Uptown Girls
by SydniBoBydni
Summary: Quinn gets the chance to see and spend time with Beth again, almost 10 years after giving birth. Things don't go as well as she expects, but will they be able to help each other learn the things they need to? Loosely based off of the movie Uptown Girls.
1. Chapter 1

**I know, those of you who follow Milestones and Stepping Stones probably think I suck. I've lost my muse and I'm waiting for something to bring it back. I did, however, come up with this idea earlier today. It's loosely based off of the movie Uptown Girls. I don't know if this idea has been done before, I don't usually read or write Quinn&Beth fanfiction. But hopefully this is fairly new. And I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls**

Quinn woke up in the afternoon. She missed her alarm clock again. Not like she had anywhere to be, but if she wanted to find a job, she had to learn to start getting up earlier.

_"Gotta get a new alarm clock."_

She threw the covers off of her, exposing her skin to the sunlight and cool breeze coming through her open window. Living in the city was nice. She loved her studio apartment. Though, the constant Manhattan traffic was always disturbing. A string of car honks and angry shouts flew up through her window from the streets. Quinn rolled her eyes and slid the window pane down, locking it.

Her landline rang from its perch on the living room wall, a few yards away. An unknown number flashed on the small screen as she ran to see who it was.

_"If it's important, they'll leave a message,"_ she thought to herself as she made herself some coffee. The apartment wasn't very big, so she would be able to hear the message from the kitchen. She listened to her own smooth voice as it told the caller to leave a message. She was about to pour some skim milk into her coffee, but froze when she heard the voice on the machine.

_"Hello, Quinn. This is Shelby. Shelby Corcoran. I know this is weird and unexpected, but I was told that you were here in the city, and I was wondering if you could come down to my office to discuss a matter involving Beth."_

At the mention of her biological daughter's name, Quinn's grip on the thin milk jug tightened.

_"We'll discuss it further if you come, but I would appreciate if you would give me a call back at this number. I suppose if you get this at a decent time this afternoon, I can pencil you into my schedule for later today, but working around it later would be rather-"_

She couldn't take it anymore. If it had to do with Beth, she couldn't avoid it like she did almost everything else. She dropped the milk onto the counter and ran to the phone.

"Hello? Shelby?"

_"Quinn?"_

"Yea, it's me. How are you?" the blonde paced in her spot, nervously.

_"I'm fine, thank you for asking. How are you?"_

"Same. I'm fine. What's going on with Beth?"

_"I'd prefer to discuss it in person, if it's alright with you. Would you be able to make it to 1026 34th Street in about three hours?"_

Her eyebrows knit together, confused as to what Shelby could possibly want to discuss in private. But she was free for the rest of the day, so she put on a shaky smile and sighed into the receiver, "Of course. I'll be there. Will Beth be there, or…?"

_"Oh no, no, no,"_ the older woman stated quickly, _"This is my office, Beth will be at home around that time."_

"Oh," Quinn's face dropped a little, "That's fine. I was just wondering. I'll definitely be there."

_"Great. See you soon."_

"Bye."

She clicked the phone off and tried to analyze what just happened. Shelby had called. Shelby Corcoran. The woman she tried to sabotage six years ago. The woman who slept with Puck. Rachel's mom. The woman who adopted her daughter. She tried to let all that go once she graduated high school. Leave all the negatives behind. Beth could never be a negative, but she had to let her go once again. She had only seen Beth twice in her life. Once when she was born, of course, then when she and Puck babysat.

_"Does she know who I am?"_

It had been seven, almost nine years since she gave birth to her daughter. In fact, it had been eight years, nine months, and twelve days. Her little girl would be turning nine in just a few months. And she'd missed so much. She never heard her first words, saw her first steps, sent her off on her first day of school. She was a mother. Just not a mom. And it hurt. But she was the one who decided on closed adoption, so she had no right to be upset with anyone but herself.

She had about two and a half hours until she had to leave to see Shelby. 34th Street was a few blocks away, so she could just walk. If she tried to get a cab, she would more than likely be late. After downing her coffee and cereal, Quinn took a long hot shower. The shower was where she did her most intense thinking. What if something happened? What if Shelby wanted to introduce her to Beth as who she really was: her mother.

A little while longer after standing under the lukewarm spray, Quinn got herself ready, finding herself so shaken, she could barely apply her mascara without poking herself in the eye. She perfected it, eventually. Pulling a navy blue cardigan over her white sundress, she glanced at her clock. She still had another thirty minutes before she had to leave. When she was nervous, it wasn't easy for Quinn to occupy her thoughts and distract herself. Usually by the time it took her to relax, it was time for her to leave.

And that's exactly what happened.

Just as she got comfortable on her red leather sofa, engrossed in an episode of What Not To Wear, it was time to go. She grabbed her purse, keys, and sunglasses and made her way out of the apartment; Taking deep breaths on her way down the staircase.

The walk to 34th Street was simple. She just had to avoid the sidewalk cracks and pot holes on the way there. She's already had two pairs of heels break because of those damn things. When she found herself in front of the tall building, Quinn eyed the list of names, scanning her finger down for Corcoran. Just like an apartment building, she pressed the button next to her name, waiting for the buzz that granted her access.

The elevator ride to the tenth floor was painfully slow. She wanted to know what was up. Wringing her fingers, Quinn searched for the correct door. At the end of the hall on the left, a wooden door labeled "Corcoran" presented itself to her. After a few seconds of hesitation, she finally brought her hand up to the doorknob, letting herself in with a few soft knocks.

"Ms. Corcoran?"

**Good start? It'll get better, I swear.**


	2. Chapter 2

**WOW! I woke up this morning with so many alerts and favorites! Thank you gleegirl9534 for reviewing! Hope you enjoy chapter 2! I haven't started writing chapter 3 yet, but I'm going to start once I publish this one :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls**

_"Ms. Corcoran?"_

"Hello, Quinn," Shelby stood from her desk, coming over to see her, "Good to see you! You look fantastic!"

"Thanks, you too," Quinn smiled nervously.

"Come on, have a seat. Can I get you some coffee or some water?"

"Water would be nice, thank you."

Shelby smiled and retrieved a water bottle from the mini fridge next to her desk, handing it to Quinn and sitting down. Quinn was seated on the opposite side of the desk from her. "So, how have you been? I haven't seen you since before you graduated high school!"

"I've been good. I got into Yale and got my Bachelor's in journalism," The twenty five year old subtly glanced around anxiously while keeping a smile. She was trying to spot any pictures of Beth that may be hanging up or stood up on a shelf. Unfortunately, the only two picture frames in Shelby's office were facing the opposite way on the desk.

"That's great! Really, that's amazing. I'm glad to see you found your way," the older woman smiled widely, "Why did you decide to come to Manhattan?"

"This just felt like where I was meant to be," Quinn shrugged with a slanted smile, "I've been here for a few months."

"Well, I think you're going to absolutely love it. There's amazing shopping, food, sites, peo-"

"I don't mean to interrupt and sound rude, but…why did you want to see me? What's going on with Beth?"

Shelby, a little off-put by Quinn's forwardness and anxiety, opened up a manila folder with a few schedules and paperwork. "Well, Quinn. As you know, Beth is just a year and a few months away from being ten. She's very…mature for her age. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that she were a thirty year old in an eight year olds body. She finds flaws in all her nannies and I just don't have the time to look after her during the day. I have shows and rehearsals to oversee almost every night." The elder woman sighed. "I assume we've moved on since our confrontation all those years ago. Now that you've matured, I feel like I can trust you with her again."

It stung a little that Quinn was being told that she couldn't be trusted with her own daughter, but she could understand Shelby's apprehension. After her plotting to get Beth back in her senior year of high school, she probably wouldn't trust her either.

"I would ask Rachel, but she's been so busy with her own show schedules, that I decided that I could give you another chance."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, I would like you to take care of Beth. Not permanently, just as...a nanny position, if you will. I thought that it would be a nice opportunity to get to know Beth and connect with her…try to loosen her up a bit. She's so tightly wound, I feel like she's not appreciating her childhood while she has it," the brunette took another deep breath, "You would only need to take care of her after school until her bedtime, and on the weekends. I'll pay you for your time, and you'll have every Sunday off."

Quinn stared at her blankly, trying to take in everything that she'd been told. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even hear the soft knock on the office door.

"Think it over, I'll be right back," Shelby got up to greet her visitor, "Oh! Before I forget," she reached into one of her desk drawers, pulling out a 3x5 photo, smiling at it a little before handing it to Quinn.

The dazed blonde reached for the photo as Shelby left the room, hesitantly glancing at it. She felt a few tears rise in her eyes as she ran her fingers over the photograph. That was her Beth; Her little girl who really wasn't that little anymore. She was so beautiful. She had honey blonde hair that flowed down just past her shoulders, hazel eyes just like her father, and a smile that was simply to die for; Dimples and all. It was a school photo, so her uniform left much for Quinn to wonder about her personality. She always thought that you could tell what a person was like based on their clothes. According to Shelby, the little girl was practically an adult. She was eight years old. No eight year old should be acting like an adult. They should be having fun like a normal kid.

"I'm sorry about that," Shelby came back a few minutes later, "I assume you've been thinking about it?"

Quinn nodded and placed the photo back on the desk, wiping just under her eyes, removing any dampness from the area. "I did. And…I'd like to do it. I'd love to do it. She looks like a great kid," she smiled at the older woman. "I'll start as soon as possible!"

Shelby smiled and clapped her hands a little. "Fantastic! Oh, thank you so much! This is gunna be great! She really is amazing, you'll see." She handed Quinn a few papers, "If you could just fill out and sign some of these forms, just so I have your contact information. I can let you start tomorrow, if you're up to it."

Tomorrow. It seemed so soon. It was soon. But Quinn did want to start as soon as possible. She nodded eagerly and smiled widely, "Yes, of course I am. I'd love to."

"Great! Here's the address of her school, you need to be there at about three in the afternoon Monday through Friday and walk home to this address here," She circled her home address in pen, "She knows the way, so she'll probably lead you there. She has ballet practice every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night. She has a recital coming up, I think. Feel free to do anything with her on the weekends. I'll pay you every Monday night when I get home for the previous week."

"Awesome. I can't wait. Really, I can't," Quinn nearly blubbered with happiness. She was finally going to get to know her little girl.

"Thank you so much, Quinn. This means a lot to me, and I'm sure it does to you too," Shelby hugged her when they stood up, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow night when I get home, then?"

"I guess so," Quinn smiled and turned to leave.

"Oh, Quinn?" Shelby called to her before she got to the door.

"Yea?"

"Beth doesn't know about you or Noah. She doesn't even know she's adopted. So I would appreciate if you would keep that under wraps. I don't think she's ready to know just yet."

**Reviews por favor!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Again! So many alerts and favorites! Thank you guys so much! Enjoy chapter 3!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls**

_"Beth doesn't know about you or Noah. She doesn't even know she's adopted. So I would appreciate if you would keep that under wraps. I just don't think she's ready to know just yet."_

The words echoed in Quinn's head on her walk to the nearest convenience store. How could she not tell Beth all these years? Shelby wouldn't be having this apprehension of telling her if she had let Beth know early in life. She would be used to the fact by now. Hopefully she didn't cry when she met the little girl. What would she say then?

After picking up a new, presumably louder alarm clock, Quinn Fabray started her journey back home. How was she going to go through with this? It plagued her thoughts for the entire walk. As she unlocked the door to her apartment, she plopped the bags down on the counter, throwing her keys any random place. She had become a bit of a slob since she moved from Ohio. Without the pressure of having to keep everything perfect, she took advantage of the fact that she could do whatever she wanted. Her college roommates didn't appreciate it very much, though.

Grabbing the phone off the couch, Quinn plopped herself down, hitting speed dial number two and waiting for the answer.

_"What?"_

"San?"

_"Quinn? Hey, girl! What's up?"_

"I umm…I have some news."

_"Preggers?"_

"What? No!" Quinn rolled her eyes. That was always Santana's first guess. Though, she was right at one point, "I got a call from Shelby today."

_"Shelby? As in the hobbit's mom? The adoptive mother of your lizard baby?"_

"She's not a lizard baby, Santana. But yes, that Shelby."

_"The hell did she want?"_

Quinn bit her lip, "She wants me to be Beth's nanny."

_"What? That's pretty damn insulting."_

"How?"

_"I mean, you gave her your kid, she refused to let you see her, now all of a sudden, nine years later, she wants you to come take care of her for her. Like, you're getting paid to take care of your own kid."_

"To be fair, she's not legally my daughter," her voice was low.

_"Whatever. So what did you say?"_

"I said yes. It's my only chance to spend time with her. But…"

_"But what?"_

"Shelby says that Beth doesn't know she's adopted. She knows nothing about me or Puck…And Shelby wants to keep it a secret from her."

_"Shit, Q. That's tough."_

"Yea…I don't know how I'm going to manage keeping it a secret from her. Nannies need to keep some emotional distance, don't they?"

_"I think so."_

Quinn glanced around her apartment with watery eyes for a moment before speaking back into the receiver, "She's so beautiful, San. She's like the perfect mix of me and Puck."

_"You've met her?"_

"No, I saw a picture. She's perfect."

_"Speaking of Puckerone, have you talked to him at all?"_

"I haven't heard from him since I left Lima," Quinn stiffened at the mention of her ex. They had a bit of an emotional goodbye on graduation day. She hadn't spoken to him at all these past six years. "Have you?"

_"No, he sulked all summer after graduation and skipped town one day. Haven't seen or heard from him since. No one has."_

Quinn frowned a little. She always pictured Puck as someone who kept in contact with everyone. Maybe he just wanted to leave it all behind and go for that rock star life he'd always wanted. "Oh…"

_"Yea. Sorry, Q,_" Santana actually sounded sympathetic, _"Look, I gotta go. Britts and I gots a movie date. But don't worry okay? You'll do great. She's gunna love your guts. Good luck, babe!"_

"Thanks, San. Bye!"

Quinn clicked the phone off and set it down beside her. Smiling a little to herself.

"She is gunna love me."

**xoPQox**

She was late. Not really late. But since she so carelessly tossed her keys anywhere the night before, she had a hard time finding them this afternoon, making her run five minutes behind schedule. Quinn practically ran the distance to Beth's school as fast as her pink ballet flats could carry her. Her long cardigan trailed behind her before she arrived at St. Mary's school for girls at exactly 3:06 PM.

Quinn glanced around for the head of honey blonde hair. It was hard when all these girls had the same clothes on and the same backpack. She finally spotted her a few feet away, standing stiffly by a light post, arms crossed and looking around. Taking a deep breath, Quinn slowly approached her.

This is it.

"Beth?" She placed her sunglasses upon the top of her head as the girl looked up at her, "Hi, I'm Quinn. Your…your new nanny."

"You're late."

That's it? Call her a dreamer, but she was expecting at least a hello.

"Sorry, I couldn't find my-" Beth started walking away, "I couldn't find my keys;" Quinn took off after her, keeping a few paces behind.

"I need to be home at exactly 3:20 to start my homework. Ballet stretches from 4:20 to 5. Ballet practice from 5:30 to 7. Dinner from 7:30 to 8. It's 3:08 now, meaning you've thrown me almost ten minutes off schedule," Beth was walking at a firm, but brisk pace, holding her backpack strap and keeping her eyes set on the path before her.

Quinn's eyebrows furrowed as she walked behind her daughter. Shelby wasn't kidding. "Well, we can cut your homework time short?"

"Yea! Let's do that! Then I can turn it in for a low grade and eventually end up unsuccessful like yourself," she snapped sarcastically.

Was this girl serious? Quinn wanted so badly to say _'Hey! I'm your mother. Don't speak to me that way!'_ But she knew she couldn't. So she pursed her lips together and kept up behind the small girl.

**xoPQox**

They arrived at the apartment complex at 6:25. Quinn tried asking Beth questions about her life and what she liked to do. 'Ballet' was the only answer she got. She tried to relate to her. She had taken ballet all through middle school. She didn't remember much, though. So Beth rolled her eyes at Quinn's lack of knowledge and desperation for small talk. She would learn her place soon. According to Beth, it was the nanny's job to be on time and get her to where she needs to be. There didn't need to be talking in between.

Upon Beth's demand, Quinn hung her purse and cardigan up in the closet by the front door to the big penthouse apartment, following her down the hall to what she assumed was her bedroom.

"Take off your shoes," Beth skidded to a stop, causing Quinn to almost bump into her.

Quinn didn't understand why she was letting this four foot tall girl control her, but she wanted her to like her. Might as well agree with her wishes as a start, right? She slipped off her flats and straightened out her yellow sundress, stepping onto the white, fluffy carpet.

_Wow._

The room as so neat and tidy. You could probably bounce a quarter off of the bed. And you could probably find a missing earring easily on the carpet. She had shelves of books and collectable porcelain dolls. It was like a fairytale room. Her room never even looked like this when she was eight, and she had a maid.

"Do you keep your room like this yourself?" she asked tentatively as she looked around.

"Is that so hard to believe?" Beth asked flatly from her personal bathroom as she washed her hands.

"No I just-" something caught her eye, "Oh my gosh this is adorable!" Quinn practically ran to the little table in the middle of the room. A porcelain china tea set was perfectly arranged. It looked like it had never been touched. "We've gotta have a tea party some time!"

"Don't touch those!" Beth dried her hands quickly, but thoroughly before running over and snatching the tea cup from Quinn's grasp. She pulled out a white handkerchief from her bedside drawer and wiped off any evidence of fingerprints before setting it lightly back down on the table. Quinn eyed her like she was crazy.

"So umm…I guess we can get started on your homework," she stood up, "Do you need any help?"

Now it was Beth's turn to look at Quinn as if she were nuts. She rolled her eyes, scoffed and walked to her desk to start her homework after putting the handkerchief neatly back in the drawer.

This may be harder than Quinn had originally thought.

**Reviews pleeeease! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hopefully I can keep up with these speedy updates! This is the fastest I've ever written before! Especially with a story where every chapter is over 1,000 words! Thank you again for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls**

Quinn sauntered into her apartment that night. She was so worn out. Mostly from trying to keep up with Beth when they walked anywhere, but the day had just been so emotionally draining. She sat and watched Beth as she did her homework until the girl finally told her to do a few household chores.

_"But you have a maid to do those things."_

_"She doesn't do anything right. You could probably do better than her," Beth stated without looking up from her school work._

_"But…I'm supposed to be watching over you."_

_"Does it look like I need you to right now?"_

She really didn't like being treated like this. But if she didn't do what Beth asked, she would probably get her fired, and she would lose all hope of ever getting to know her. Although, she really didn't like the girl she'd become right now. She had cried a little as she placed the dishes in the cupboards. This wasn't what she wanted. She wanted Beth to love and accept her; To at least want to be friends if she couldn't know the truth. The girl wanted nothing to do with her.

_"What are you doing? What are those?" Quinn asked frantically as she snatched the bottle from Beth's hands._

_"Advil," the eight year old said in a matter-of-fact way._

_"What would you possibly need Advil for? You're eight!"_

_"Eight and three quarters. And I take them all the time! Your sloppy timing today gave me a migraine!" she reached up for the bottle, but Quinn held it high._

_"No. You're not taking these. I'm not letting you."_

_Beth shot her the nastiest glare. If looks could kill, Quinn would be six feet under in seconds._

_"I can make you some tea. That usually helps me."_

_"Whatever," the girl spun around to go back to her stretches._

_Sighing, Quinn carried the bottle to the kitchen where she started making tea for two._

She lay on the sofa and draped an arm over her face. Things had to change. No more doing chores that weren't part of her job. No more taking orders. No more being treated like shit by an eight year old. Even if Beth didn't know that she was her mother, she needed to treat her elders with respect.

With her recital coming up so soon, Beth had told her that she had to go down to the studio every evening for private lessons with her instructor. So it would be the same routine for a while. However, tomorrow was Saturday. Meaning Quinn got to do whatever she wanted with the girl. Maybe a shopping trip would be in order.

**xoPQox**

She arrived at Shelby's apartment promptly at eight in the morning. According to Beth's schedule, she should be up and showered by now. Letting herself in with her copy of the key, she took a deep breath and walked down the hall to Beth's room. Shoes still on.

"Morning," Quinn said softly as she stepped in.

Beth glanced over from her ballet bar, scowling a little, "Take. Your shoes. Off."

Quinn put on a brave face and held her chin higher. "No. Get dressed, we're going to do some shopping in Times Square."

"I'm not going anywhere today," the smaller blonde said flatly as she continued with her plies, "Especially not with you."

"Oh, yes you are," Quinn smirked, "We're going to get you something fun to wear."

"Fun?" Beth raised an eyebrow. Something she got from both her parents.

"Yep. Maybe some jeans or a funky skirt."

Rolling her eyes, Beth went back to her plies without a word.

Quinn huffed and walked over to the stereo, turning it off. Mozart and Beethoven were practically blaring. For a girl who didn't like to have fun, she sure kept her music loud. "Maybe we'll get you some CD's too. You need some new music. How do you even listen to this stuff?"

"Beethoven is one of the founders of music. I prefer him over Hannah Dakota or whatever the dumb girls at school like."

"Montana," Quinn corrected her. Wow, this girl really needed to relax and learn to act her age.

Going over to the closet, Quinn was amazed at how many clothes this girl had. They were mostly dresses. But there were a few pairs of slacks and some blouses. It was so organized, she was almost afraid to touch any of it. Pulling out a pair of peach capri pants and a yellow short sleeved blouse, Quinn tossed them onto the perfectly made bed.

"Hey!" Beth's voice echoed against the walls. She was clearly angry that Quinn carelessly threw her clothes around, but she had no right just going through her closet and taking things out.

"Put'em on, kiddo. We're going whether you like it or not. And you can either go in that leotard, or you can wear what I picked out for you."

Beth practically stomped over to the bed and picked up the clothes, giving Quinn another death glare before going to change in the bathroom.

"These don't match" she mumbled when she came out in the outfit.

"Put on some white shoes and a peach headband and it'll look cute," Quinn shrugged.

Beth sighed and brushed her hair out of the tight bun she had it in. She had a collection of headbands that she never wore. They looked like something that a five year old would wear in their hair. Quinn had a similar one on, which only made her despise it more.

**xoPQox**

After hailing a cab, Quinn and Beth walked through the busy sidewalks of Times Square. It took a lot of convincing, but Quinn got Beth to hold her hand. Partially for the little girl's own safety, but also because it was her way of getting some physical contact from her. The farther into the crowds they got, Beth held tighter to Quinn's hand. Quinn held her slack hand tightly anyways, but it made her feel more secure knowing that they both had a good grip.

"This place is filthy," Beth winced as they passed a homeless man sitting on the side of the littered road.

Quinn rolled her eyes and kept walking towards the Justice store a few hundred feet away, "It's fine. I have hand sanitizer." She pulled open the door to the colorful store, letting Beth look around, "So…whatdya think? See anything you like?"

Beth glared around wide eyed, seemingly disgusted and appalled at the same time. She gave Quinn a firm "No" before turning to walk out.

"No no no, come on, missy," Quinn grabbed her arm and spun her back around, "We're going to pick something out for you. There's gotta be something in here you like."

The little girl shook her head incessantly and Quinn sighed, dragging her forward.

"What about this?" she held up a graphic t-shirt with a ballerina on it.

"No way."

"Come on! It's cute! And you love ballet."

"But look at it! It's an awfully drawn cartoon ballerina. She's not even in a correct stance! And don't get me started on the letters," she pointed to the bright, glittery bubble letters that said "Luvs 2 Dance".

"Fine," Quinn put the shirt back, "Why don't we start with bottoms and work our way up? Let's go look at some jeans."

Beth slumped down and followed her to the next section.

**xoPQox**

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Quinn asked as they walked out of the store with a few bags.

"That was awful. Why would anyone wear those things?"

"Because they're cute! I love what we found!"

After an hour of browsing the store, Quinn managed to get Beth to try on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. They ended up buying both. And as a congratulations for being such a good sport, Quinn decided to let Beth get a dress and a nice cardigan.

As the two walked hand in hand down the road towards the pizza place that Quinn loved, the elder blonde glanced down at her daughter, seeing the slightly disturbed look on her face.

"I saw you in the store when those girls came in with their friends." Beth said nothing. "Why'd you look so sad?"

"I wasn't sad. I was annoyed. Those girls were loud and obnoxious, and were making the entire experience even worse."

After a few moments of silence, Quinn spoke again. "Who's your best friend, B?"

Nothing.

"Don't you have a best friend? Or any friends?"

Beth looked away, trying to avoid it.

"Beth?"

"No! Okay? I don't!"

"Why not? You go to an all girls school. There's gotta be someone there you're friends with."

"Those girls are all pathetic."

"What about the girls in your dance class?"

"Same thing. They're not worthy of my time and attention. I'm there to dance. Not to make friends."

Quinn glanced down at the smaller girl incredulously. She had no friends at all?

"How about some weekend, we invite some of the girls from dance class over for a slumber party? We can watch movies, and dance around, do some makeovers, it'll be fun! I used to do it all the time."

Beth hesitated a little, wincing in the bright sunlight, "No…Where are we going?"

Quinn sighed and looked forward, "There's this little pizzeria up ahead. You like pizza, right?"

The small blonde shrugged, "Never had it before."

"How is that possible? Everyone has tried pizza at least once."

"I'll bloat up like a whale if I eat it. I can't gain weight or I won't be as agile for ballet."

Quinn was about to tell Beth that she actually _had_ eaten pizza before. A long time ago when Shelby allowed them to babysit.

_"Puck! Don't give her that!"_

_"Why? It's just a little piece. I blew on it and everything."_

_"She's not even two yet! She needs to eat _her_ food, not yours."_

_"One piece won't hurt her," Puck fed the baby a small piece of the Pizza Hut pizza they had gotten delivered, watching as she chewed. Beth's eyes widened happily as she made happy, satisfied noises. "See? She likes it._"

Smiling a little at the memory, Quinn was snapped back to reality by the feeling of Beth tugging on her arm.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing, I'm just…really excited to eat. I'm starving."

"Freak."

"Hey," Quinn halted to a stop and bent down to Beth's level, "Stop calling me names. Okay? That hurts my feelings. So stop."

Beth glared at her again, as if trying to stare her down. But Quinn couldn't detect the emotions in her eyes. She looked angry…but there was something else there.

"Now let's go. You're trying the pizza, by the way."


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, I've been like, spitfire updating lol I don't know if I wanna be one of those people who makes their readers wait for new chapters. I've been non-stop writing, so I'm just going to upload every chapter after I finish them. So if that means 5 chapters in 1 day, then so be it haha! Here's chapter 5! This chapter contains sad Quick, so hopefully you're all a fan of them lol**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls**

Since their shopping trip, yesterday, Quinn couldn't stop smiling. Beth still wasn't thrilled with her, but she was starting to be civil. Quinn wouldn't let it go that Beth ate an entire slice of pizza and didn't gain an ounce, according the scale Beth had in her bathroom. She shouldn't be worrying about gaining weight anyways; Especially not at her age.

Today was her day off. If it were a relief now, she couldn't even imagine what it would be like after an entire week of working. But today, she planned on relaxing and pampering herself. She had Chinese food delivered, took a bubble bath, and lounged on the sofa with cookie dough and a load of chick flicks. Life in New York was a little lonely. The only other person she knew up here was Rachel. But she was always busy. Santana and Brittany had stayed in Lima, and it seemed like they were millions of miles away. Skyping had become a thing that they did at least twice a week.

Quinn had no friends here. Until Shelby called, the closest relationship she had was with the guy who delivered the Chinese food. And she saw him at least once a week. She kept in touch with her mother. Of course, she was the one paying for the apartment, since Quinn didn't have a job, aside from nannying. Judy was still groveling for letting Russell just kick Quinn out of the house. Maybe a second job wouldn't be too bad. She couldn't live off her mother's money forever.

She glanced over at the table next to the couch, smiling at the picture that laid in the frame. She had taken it yesterday and thought it just had to be printed and framed. It was her and Beth at the pizza place. Beth had been chewing on a bite of her pizza. Quinn had asked an employee to take their picture quickly while Beth was chewing. She was leaned forward on the table with a bright smile while Beth was mid-bite and looking up at the camera with shocked eyes.

Beth didn't find it very funny.

It wasn't a perfect picture. But it was the first picture of the two of them that Quinn had gotten in six years. Aside from the photos that Judy and the glee club took the day Beth was born, Quinn had taken almost 100 pictures the night that she and Puck babysat her. There were a few ones that Puck took when Quinn was trying to feed Beth her normal baby food after Puck gave her pizza, pictures of her and Beth sitting on the floor playing with baby dolls, a few of her rocking Beth to sleep. There was only one picture of her and Beth from that night that wasn't a candid. That one was in a photo album with the rest of the pictures from that night.

Maybe she could actually get Beth to smile for a picture for once.

She could make that her new mission.

After a few movies, Quinn's mind started to wander to Puck. What even happened to him? No one had really heard from him since graduation. It wouldn't surprise her if she was the last person he talked to.

She remembered the last time she talked to him like it was yesterday.

_Quinn was in the process of making sure she had everything she wanted to bring with her to Yale. Her diploma and graduation cap were propped up on a shelf by her closet. It was a good feeling, graduating from high school. It felt like everything was falling into place for her. She was independent and confident in herself. The glee club called her Miss Quinndependent. She was going to miss them a lot. She made sure she had all their phone numbers and Skype names…All but one person._

_Just as she was putting her suitcases by the door, she heard light tapping on her window. Curious, her eyebrows knit together as she walked to the window, peeking past the curtain. There, on the grass, stood Noah Puckerman himself; Tossing pebbles at her window. How cliché. Quinn liked cliché sometimes. Pointing in the direction of her front door, she watched as Puck followed her order before nearly running out of her room and down the stairs._

_She opened the door to greet him, almost going weak at the knees at the sight of him in his leather jacket. He still had his Mohawk, but it was shorter and tamer than earlier in the year. He was so handsome. "Hi," she whispered, "What are you doing here?"_

_"Came to uh…say goodbye, I guess," he shrugged and brushed past her to get inside._

_"I said goodbye to everyone at the glee club party," she really didn't want him here. It was little gestures like throwing pebbles at her window that made her fall for him in the first place. She had to leave him and Lima behind. Quinndependence remember?_

_"All right, maybe I just wanted to see you one last time before you leave."_

_Why was he doing this? Why couldn't he just let her go? Why couldn't she let him go? This boy had been plaguing her thoughts since the first time she saw him freshman year of high school._

_"Puck, I really think you should go-"_

_"I love you, Quinn," he interrupted with a stony face, "I told you once before, and you said nothing. So I'm telling you again. And I want a response this time. I can't let you leave without knowing if you feel the same way." His jaw was tight, and Quinn could see the vein in his neck, "So…do you?"_

_She looked at him in complete shock. She definitely wasn't expecting this today. Especially not the night before she left for Connecticut. "Puck…I..I can't."_

_"Can't what?"_

_She thought about what she may have meant by what she said. She had just sad it without thinking. Did it mean she can't love him? Or that she just can't deal with this right now because she was so madly in love with him and she didn't have the heart to tell him and then leave?_

_The latter. Definitely._

_"I just…can't, Puck. I'm leaving tomorrow."_

_"I can go with you."_

_"Why would you do that, Puck? Your life is here. You've got family here, and your pool cleaning business."_

_"Ma and Sara won't miss me. And I can clean pools anywhere. I can deal with Connecticut. Get a job, maybe play a few gigs. Get an apartment or something…We can travel and stuff once you're out of school. Settle down somewhere, get a house...Be a family...We can do it."_

_Quinn's eyes watered as he practically laid out a plan for them. She was leaned against the door and he stood almost directly in front of her. Her teeth dug into her lip so hard she thought it might bleed. She loved him. She really did…but if she told him, he would only try to follow her to New Haven._

_"Puck…you have so much potential. Potential to do anything. You could go anywhere with your guitar and get millions of people to love you and your music. You don't need me. I'll only hold you back."_

_He noticed the few tears that had escaped her eyes as they started their descent down her cheeks. Moving closer to her, he wiped them away with his thumb. She could feel his warm, minty breath against her face as her heart rate sped up. His face got closer and closer to hers. His lips ever so slightly brushed against her own before he kissed her gently._

_Quinn could feel herself melting. It seemed like forever since she felt his lips on hers. His thumb continued to stroke her cheek. He was always so gentle with her. It was as if he thought that she were a porcelain doll that would break if you handled it too roughly. She loved it. And she loved him. He broke away slowly, resting his forehead to hers as they both caught their breath._

_"Do you love me or not?" he panted._

_She wanted to say the exact words that he had told her when their baby girl was born: "Yes. Especially now."_

_But she couldn't._

_Taking a deep breath, she cast her eyes downward and whispered, "No."_

_When she got the courage to look up at him, she almost choked out a loud sob at the look on his face. He looked so hurt and heartbroken. She could tell that he was trying to hold himself together. His lips were pursed together in a straight line and he avoided eye contact with her at all costs._

_"All right," he mumbled, "I guess I'll see you around then. Maybe at the reunion or something. I hear 2022 is supposed to be a good year."_

_Quinn released a fresh batch of tears as he moved away from her and out the door._

And that was the last time she ever saw him. Who knew where he was now. He could be a huge rock star in LA. He could even be dead. As bad as that thought was, Quinn couldn't help but consider the possibility. No one had heard from him since that summer.

Getting up from the couch, Quinn turned off everything in the living room and double checked the apartment locks before going to her bedroom. She fished around in her closet, looking for the big pink book she made while she was at away at school. It had a glittery B on it. B for Beth. Turning off the closet light and shutting the door, Quinn curled up in her bed and flipped slowly through the pages of the scrapbook. All the pictures from sophomore and senior year were in this scrapbook. All the ones that involved Beth in some way, anyways.

It was all in chronological order. Ultrasound pictures started each section of the first year; Like a chapter book. She flipped through pictures of her and the glee club, her and Puck, her and Puck's sister. Her pregnant belly got bigger and bigger with each page. She had photos of everyone in the glee club holding Beth. They all matched in their Regional's uniforms. There was one of her, Puck, and Beth. They were looking up at the camera with big smiles. They looked like a family.

Quinn read the neat cursive under the picture, running her fingers over it.

_Baby Beth born June 8th 2010_

After that last picture came the ones from babysitting. Despite the circumstances, that night had been one of the best in her life.

Quinn tucked the scrapbook under the pillow on the other side of the bed before turning off the light and closing her eyes; Crying herself to sleep as she had done so many times before.

**Keep the reviews coming! You guys rock!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi, everyone! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a few days! I got a new laptop and slacked a little on putting Microsoft Word onto it. This chapter is a little longer than the others as my apology lol**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls**

Things had been going great for Quinn. Within the next few weeks, she managed to find a job at a coffee shop. She took the morning shift as a waitress (she felt just like Rachel from Friends), and she got off just in time to get Beth from school. She actually loved it. She met so many interesting people. And she'd even made a few friends. Of course, she could only hang out with them on Sundays and during work, since she was booked almost all day during the week.

She and Beth had even been getting along for the most part. Beth had stopped being so rude to her, and was acting more than civil. She was actually being friendly. The little girl even invited Quinn to her recital on Sunday. Quinn hung the pink paper on her refrigerator so she wouldn't forget. Beth had even let her take pictures with her. And she actually smiled this time. The new pictures were on Quinn's end table with the first one of them at the pizzaria.

On Friday morning, Quinn was cleaning tables when her co-worker Jess came up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Quinn, there's a guy at the table in the corner who wants to talk to you."

"Who is he?" Quinn asked without looking up from the table she was wiping down.

"I don't know," Jess shrugged, her red ponytail bouncing off her shoulder, "He's hot though."

Rolling her eyes and laughing, Quinn nodded and said "Okay, okay," as she got her pad and pencil out of her apron. She flipped through the used pages as she walked to the corner table, not bothering to look up as she got ready to write down this guy's order. "Hi there, what can I get for you?"

"Yea, get me a blueberry chip muffin with a black coffee...and maybe a few minutes to talk," the man's voice was deep and gruff...and so familiar. Quinn glanced up from the pad and came face to face with none other than Noah Puckerman.

She was speechless.

"Hey, Q," he smiled a little.

Quinn's breath got caught in her throat. She felt like she couldn't breathe. A voice in her head told her to run away and hand him off to another waitress. She couldn't deal with him. Not right now, anyways. Things were finally going fantastically for her, and she didn't need him here to add drama to her life.

"Um..I'll, uh...be right back with your order."

She took that opportunity to run. She got off in a few minutes anyways. As she untied her apron, she let her boss know that she had to go (using the excuse that Beth's school got out early), asked Jess to give Puck his order, and she ran; Not bothering to change out of her uniform like she normally did.

Why was he here? What did he want? Quinn's mind repeated these questions in her head as she briskly walked down the sidewalk to her apartment.

"Quinn!" his voice rang out from not far behind her.

"Leave me alone! Please!" she sounded so desperate and breathless as she tried to keep away from him.

"Q, please. Come on, I just wanna talk!" he practically galloped after her. As he finally caught up, he moved in front of her, but she turned the other way and went to go the other way. They did a bit of a dance back and forth until he finally grabbed her by the shoulders, holding her still.

"Hey! Let her go!" a random bystander cut in, trying to pull him off.

"It's fine! I know her, okay? I'm trying to get her to just talk to me!" It really wasn't the guy's business, but Puck felt the need to explain. But he backed away slightly, just to show that he wasn't trying to hurt her.

"Is this guy bothering you, miss?" the man turned to Quinn, looking at her with complete concern.

Quinn's head was bowed and her arms were crossing over her chest as she tried to catch her breath and keep her tears at bay. But she looked up at Puck, seeing the desperation in his eyes. Without looking at the 20-something guy to her side, she shook her head and whispered, "No. No, it's fine," finally turning to him, she mumbled, "Thank you, though."

"If you're sure," the guy backed away reluctantly and disappeared.

Once they were alone, Puck stepped a little closer to Quinn, making her tense up. "Quinn, can we just talk? Please? I'm not here to hurt you, or do anything. I just wanna see how you're doing."

Quinn looked back at him, looking him up and down. He hadn't changed at all. He still dawned the leather jacket and jeans. The only thing missing was the mohawk. And he still had a way of making her melt by just standing in her presence. Nodding slightly, she whispered, "Come on," and lead him down the street. Her apartment was only a few blocks away. Luckily, her work was almost perfectly in between her apartment and Beth's school.

"How did you find me?"

"Finally decided to contact a few people. San told me you lived here in New York and gave me the name of the place you worked at."

_"So that's why she asked."_

"Why are you here?"

Puck sighed, "I just wanted to see how you've been. It's been like, six years since I've seen you. And I figured I've avoided the past and everyone in it enough. So I found everyone, but you. And Santana, after yelling at me for being so stupid as to cut off contact with everyone, was nice enough to tell me where you were."

Quinn scoffed. It was just like Santana to do something like this behind her back. She could've said _"Hey, Quinn! Don't be surprised if Puck randomly shows up at your work one day!_" But that wasn't like Santana.

"So how've you been?" he turned and looked at her as they progressed down the sidewalk.

"Fine. Just fine. I work at the coffee shop, and nowhere else."

Quinn wasn't the best at lying.

"Good to know," Puck arched an eyebrow, "Is that all?"

"Yup! I go to work at the coffee shop, I go home, I get up, I repeat. That's it."

"Sounds...like quite the life. How was Yale?"

"It was great. I loved it. I majored in journalism, and wrote for the school paper and the local newspaper for a while. But I haven't found anything here."

"Wow. Congrats, Q. That's great."

"Thanks," she cleared her throat as they neared her apartment building, "Did you wanna come upstairs for coffee or something and we can keep talking?"

"I was supposed to get a blueberry chip muffin and a coffee back at the shop, but I guess we can talk here," he chuckled.

Same old sarcastic Puck.

"Great, umm...come on in," she lead him into the building as they rode the elevator up to her floor.

"So how have you been? Everyone was really worried about you," Quinn asked him as she unlocked her door.

"Can't really complain. I took all the money I had saved up and I ran to California. Figured I'd try to make it big. I played a few gigs, and recorded some demos, but never anything huge. And it was just that for six years. Nothing to brag about," he shrugged as he glanced around her apartment. "This is a nice place you got."

"Thanks. My mom pays for most of it," she admitted as she turned on the coffee machine. "Sorry about the mess. Make yourself comfortable."

Puck nodded and sat down on the sofa. He was shocked to see things scattered on the floor, and empty take-out containers on the coffee table. The Quinn he knew never made a mess. Although, she did always leave her hair on the shower walls when she lived with him. That was the biggest mess he'd ever seen her make. Glancing around, he noticed the picture frame on the end table. Curious, he picked it up and stared at it. The little girl in the photo looked like a miniature Quinn. But it couldn't be who he thought it was...could it?

"Who's this?" he stood up and brought the picture to her in the kitchen.

Quinn turned to see what he was talking about, her eyes widening when she saw the frame in his hands.

_"Shit."_

"That's um...that's..." she really needed to get better at lying, "That's my friend's daughter. I babysit her every now and then." That was sort of true. She and Shelby talked every so often, and were kind of friends.

"Your friend's daughter looks an awful lot like you," he stepped closer to her, obviously suspicious.

"Yea, well...I've been told that," she rubbed her arm nervously and backed away from him, not making eye contact.

"Funny," Puck put the picture down on the counter, "Y'know, Beth would be about the same age as the girl in this picture. "

Quinn flinched when he said Beth's name.

"When did you see her?"

There was no point in hiding it now. He knew.

"A few weeks ago," Quinn finally looked up at him, "I'm her nanny. Shelby called and offered me the job."

Puck shook his head and glared at the wall. He felt completely betrayed that this had been kept a secret from him.

"And you didn't bother to try to get in touch with me to tell me? Is this some kind of sick revenge for what I did in high school? I went to see Beth and you didn't, so this is your way of getting back at me?" His voice rose as he became more and more angry.

"You don't think I wanted to?" Quinn nearly screamed back at him, "You were MIA for six years, Puck! How did you expect me to find you?"

"So Beth gets to hang out with her mommy all the time! Does she ever wonder where daddy is? What do you say to her when she asks?"

"I don't say anything because she doesn't ask! She doesn't know we're her parents!"

Puck paused and stared at her blankly, "What?"

"She doesn't know we're her parents. She doesn't even know she's adopted. Shelby told me to keep it a secret from her if I took the job, because she doesn't want her to know."

Puck was dumbstruck.

"I'm sorry I didn't try to find you. But I knew that if I told you, you would come here and barge into my life, or try to barge into hers." Quinn folded her arms and slouched.

Puck nodded in understanding. He was still pretty upset about it all, but he could understand why she kept it from him. It's not like he deserved it anyways. He cut off all contact from her and avoided her phone calls, texts, and emails for six years.

"Sorry I flipped out," he mumbled, "Thought you did all of it to hurt me on purpose."

"It's okay," she nodded and reached out to touch his bicep. She lost her breath a little at the contact. It had been too long since she'd touched him. After a few moments of silence, she finally looked back up at him. "Look, I have to go get her from school in a few minutes. She'll kill me if I'm late...You wanna come?"

Puck looked at her with shocked, but hopeful eyes. "Really?"

"Yea, I'm sure she'd love to meet you. And I'm sure Shelby won't mind. Just as long as you don't let it slip that we're her parents or that she's adopted."

Puck put on the crooked, goofy smile that Quinn couldn't help but love and nodded, "Yea. I'd like that."

"Great," she smiled and and grabbed her change of clothes before leading him back out the door.

"So what's she like?" he asked, following her.

"Oh you'll see," she scoffed, "She's a piece of work."

**xoPQox**

They approached the school right on time just as the girls were piling out of the building. Quinn searched for Beth's head of blonde hair in the sea of little girls.

"Beth!" she called out once she saw her, waving the girl over. "Hey, girl. This is my friend Noah," she gestured to Puck.

Puck couldn't believe what he was seeing. This was his baby girl standing right in front of him, more beautiful than ever. She'd gotten so big. The last time he saw her, she had diaper rash. She looked so much like Quinn it amazed him. He wondered if she ever noticed that, or questioned it. Smiling he reached out to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you, Beth. You can call me Puck if you want."

Beth looked him up and down and shook his hand hesitantly. "You Quinn's boyfriend?"

He nearly choked on his own spit. Quinn wasn't joking when she said Beth was a little blunt. "No, no. Just a friend."

"Mmmhm," the small girl rolled her eyes and started the walk to her home.

Puck glanced over at Quinn, who smiled and shrugged as if to say, _"Yep! That's Beth,_" before following her.

**xoPQox**

Quinn made it a point to let Puck know that he should probably leave once Beth started her homework. Also, that he better take off his shoes before he went into her room or he would face the little girl's wrath.

As they walked to Beth's room, Quinn informed the maid that Puck was her friend and would leave in a few minutes. She found out that the maid was pretty skittish about men coming near or into the apartment. Quinn had food delivered here a few days ago and the woman nearly beat the delivery boy with a broom. Needless to say, Quinn had to tip the kid extra for the inconvenience.

As Puck entered the neat and tidy room, oddly enough, the first thing he noticed was something on the wall. It was the clown pig that he had drawn for Beth all those years ago. "Nice drawing you've got there," he pointed to it as they entered.

"It's been there for as long as I can remember. Mom says that one of her old friends drew it for me. Pretty weird if you ask me. And their grammar isn't very good. I think it was drawn by one of the kids that was in my mom's voice classes after I was born."

Puck frowned a little. He actually worked hard on that, but he knew that an eight year old wouldn't appreciate it as much as a toddler would. It was still hung up on her wall, right?

Quinn furrowed her eyebrows at him, wondering why he mentioned the picture. She had never even noticed it before.

"I drew that when she was a baby," he whispered to her as Beth retreated to her bathroom to wash her hands.

She let her jaw slack a little. She never even noticed that picture, let alone knew that Puck was the one who made it. "Well, your grammar is pretty horrible," she giggled and nudged him.

**Reviews pretty please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delayed update again! I couldn't log in for a while. Anywho, there's been a rating change due to this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls**

Quinn had most of the day off today. She really just had to drop Beth off at the studio for the day, and had to pick her up in the evening. The little girl insisted on staying at the dance studio all day to practice for her recital tomorrow. Quinn wanted to protest and take her somewhere fun like Central Park or to go sight-seeing in a different part of the city. But Beth was serious about her ballet recital, and Quinn knew that it would drive her crazy if she missed a day of practice.

So she sat at home, watching movie after movie. It was nearing nighttime, and she had been sitting on the sofa all day. She didn't have to pick Beth up until seven. Though, glancing at the clock, she realized that she should probably get ready. It was almost 6:30, and she still had to get dressed, and hail a cab to the dance studio. She would walk, but she never walked around the city by herself after six. She noticed that things got even weirder after six.

Quinn managed to get a cab, and get to the studio just in time. After an approved request for the driver to wait for her outside, she ran into the building to gather Beth and her belongings.

"Hey there, girlie," Quinn smiled at the sight of Beth putting her normal clothes on over her leotard, "Ready to go?"

"Please tell me you didn't get another taxi."

"What's wrong with taxis?"

"They're full of germs! And the drivers are shady."

"Well, it's either get in a dirty car with one shady stranger or walk on the dirty street at night with a million shady strangers," Quinn shrugged, "Take your pick."

Rolling her eyes, the smaller blonde put her bag over her shoulder and got out her personal hand sanitizer and a tissue. Quinn, as well, rolled her eyes. Beth did this every time they took a cab. It was good that she was trying to stay safe and healthy, but come on. Live a little.

Quinn put her arm around Beth's shoulders and walked her to the car, smiling at how well things had been going lately. Beth actually seemed to like her now. She still had an attitude, but it wasn't as bad as when she started.

"So you're coming to my recital tomorrow night, right? It's at seven o'clock sharp. Don't forget. I got a seat reserved for you in the front and everything," Beth looked up at her.

"Course I am, kiddo," Quinn smiled back down at her daughter, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

The pair got into the cab where Quinn gave the driver Beth's address. Beth chatted about rehearsal throughout the entire ride. Quinn may not have remembered everything about ballet or understood what she was saying, but she was a much better listener than Shelby. Beth thought her mom just nodded too much and asked her if she did everything right. Talking to Quinn about it was a lot less frustrating.

As they arrived at the tall apartment building, Quinn paid and thanked the driver, and instructed Beth to thank him as well. The two of them rode the elevator up to their floor, and Quinn sat on Beth's bed while she got ready for bed. Luckily, the dance instructor had ordered sandwiches from the local deli for all the girls, so she didn't have to worry about dinner. Beth had told Quinn in the car about the ham and lettuce sub she had eaten.

"So, how do you know that guy from yesterday?" Beth asked from the bathroom as she washed her face.

"He's one of my old friends from high school," Quinn smiled to herself, letting her mind wander back to Puck for the thousandth time that day.

"You sure he's not your boyfriend?" the little girl raised an eyebrow at Quinn through the mirror.

"Positive. I can't handle a boyfriend right now...We used to date though."

"I knew it."

"Oh hush. It was only for a few months," the older woman chuckled.

"Why'd you break up?" Beth started brushing her teeth.

"You're awfully curious tonight," Quinn's eyebrows knit together before trying to think of something to tell her daughter without giving away the secret, "We just wanted different things, and decided it would be better if we were just friends."

It was partly true. In reality, they had tried dating the summer after Beth was born. But Quinn just grew to find simply the sight of him to be too painful. Everything about him reminded her of her pregnancy and their little girl. She had started to regret everything, and couldn't deal with the guilt anymore. So she shut him out. She shut everyone out. Everyone who had been there to help her during her pregnancy (with the exception of Santana and Brittany) were now a part of her past that she needed to let go. She didn't speak with Mercedes until the summer before senior year. She had barely said a word to Puck at all unless it was an insult. But she never lost those intense feelings she had for him.

"Sounds like a bunch of crap to me." Beth mumbled after she rinsed her mouth out, coming back into the bedroom.

"What?" Quinn got off the bed so the girl could get in and make herself comfortable.

"I'm just saying. You say that you wanted different things, but in high school, what different things could you possibly want? It's not like you were married."

Smiling warmly, Quinn tucked Beth in and shook her head. "You'll understand when you're older. I'll explain it all to you once you find your first love, okay?"

"So you loved him?"

Sighing, Quinn knelt by the edge of Beth's bed. The purple glow from her nightlight was the only light in the room. "It's complicated."

"You either did or your didn't."

"Fine. I did. A lot," she looked away, "But he can't know. I said things to him when we were younger and he would get really hurt if he knew that I loved him."

"What did you say to him?"

"He asked me if I loved him the night before I left for college. And even though I did, so so much, I said no."

"Why?"

Quinn didn't know why she was spilling all this to Beth...but she kept it bottled up inside for so long, it was time she told someone. "If he knew that I loved him back, he would throw all his dreams away and try to be with me. He'll deny it, but I know him. He would do it. He had big dreams. Huge dreams, B. He wanted a music career. And if he followed me to Yale, it would hold him back from everything he wanted. He told me that if I loved him back, we could move out of Ohio, travel for a while once I finished school, settle down and start a family. I wanted those things so badly, but I couldn't hold him back from his dreams. The point of love is putting the one you love before yourself. And I loved him so much that I gave up something we both wanted so that he could reach his full potential. I regret it sometimes, but he actually achieved some of his goals. And I'm really proud of him."

Quinn noticed that she had begun to talk more to herself than to Beth as she explained. Looking over at the little blonde, she smiled at the sight of her closed eyes and flaring nostrils. She got up and placed a gentle kiss on Beth's forehead, whispering that she loved her before leaving the room, silently closing the door behind her.

**xoPQox**

Quinn got home around nine that night. Thanking the cab driver, she rode the elevator up to her floor, sulking the entire walk to her apartment door. Turning the corner to her hallway, she looked up and saw Puck sitting next to her door.

"Puck?"

He glanced up at her and stood up, brushing his pants off. "Hey, I uh...I didn't know what time you got off work, but I wanted to come over to hang out if you were up for it."

Jaw slacked, Quinn nodded and fished her keys out of her purse, "Of course. I mean, sure. How long have you been waiting here?"

"Not long..an hour or two," he shrugged.

"Sounds long to me. I'm sorry," Quinn winced as she opened the door, allowing him inside.

"It's fine. I dozed off a few times, so it didn't seem as long."

Quinn laughed a little, dropping her keys onto the kitchen counter. "Make yourself comfortable."

Puck kicked off his shoes and plopped down on the sofa.. After hanging out with Quinn the day before, things were seemingly back to normal. Not completely normal, but they were comfortable with each other. It didn't take long for them to reconnect. He turned on the TV and flipped through the channels, landing on some old sitcom from the 90's.

Quinn came over with coffee for him and a wine glass for herself. She had a rough night, so she deserved to relax and enjoy herself. She was always responsible when it came to alcohol. Plus, this was only wine. She had it in church all the time.

"God, you're acting like you live here," she swatted his feet off of the coffee table.

"Hey, you said to make myself comfortable."

She stuck her tongue out at him and took a sip of her wine, sitting back and watching the show.

She glanced over at him every so often, and he did the same.

But they were comfortable. Quinn made a point to get up for more wine and come back to sit inches closer to him than before. Since they started on opposite sides of the couch, it took a few trips until she was finally almost right by his side. He smirked and put an arm around her, pulling her closer. Things weren't romantic. Just comfortable. They were friends. Friends did stuff like this right?

"What happened to us?" Quinn murmured against his shoulder. The wine had fogged her thoughts a little, since she had downed almost an entire bottle.

"Don't act like you don't remember."

"Nonono, I remember that night," it was like their thoughts were in sync, "I mean, what happened that made you stop talking to me? Six years with no answered phone calls, texts, or emails...Why?"

"I dunno, Q," he removed his arm from around her, "You left, and I felt like there was no reason for me to answer you if you wanted nothing to do with me. You said nothing could happen between us."

"But we still could've been friends, Puck," she slurred a bit, "I sent you those messages as a friend."

"Well, maybe I didn't want to be your friend," he snapped.

Quinn looked at him like he was a stranger. She knew Puck lost his temper sometimes, but he never snapped at her. Her eyes watered as she got up and ran to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Puck ran his hands over his face, groaning into them. He shouldn't have snapped at her. But she brought up a sensitive subject. Next to Beth, and his dad, what happened between him and Quinn was a topic that hurt him the most. But he couldn't leave her the way she was. She had taken in a little too much wine, so he knew that some of these emotions were alcohol induced. But she was still hurt. He turned off the TV and walked slowly down the hall to her bedroom. He could hear her sniffling through the door. Quinn had never really been a subtle crier. Knocking on the door seemed useless. She wouldn't answer. So he turned the handle and walked in quietly. She was curled up with a pillow above the covers. Puck could see from the doorway that her eyes were puffy and her face was flushed. He always hated seeing her cry. Deciding that he didn't want to stand here and watch her anymore, he did the thing he always did when she cried. He curled up next to her and pulled her close to him.

She put up a weak fight, but soon relaxed into his embrace, continuing to let her tears flow freely. She hated being in his arms almost as much as she loved it. He made her feel so vulnerable and weak. But she loved the way he made her feel safe and wanted.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," he whispered as she shook, "I just don't like talking about it."

"Why-y wouldn't you want to be my friend?" her voice trembled with her body.

Puck didn't want to tell her the truth, but he'd hurt her enough. She deserved to know. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, "I couldn't stand the thought of just being your friend. I knew you didn't want anything more, and that killed me. So I thought that avoiding you and trying to forget you was better than having you in my life and constantly wishing for more than friendship." There. He said it. "But I know you just want to be friends, and I know now that it's better than not having you in my life at all."

Quinn still shook a little, but her soft sobs had died down to simple sniffles. She turned in his arms to face him. His facial features hadn't changed a bit. He still had the defined jaw. It was covered in a light scruff now. Every curve of his face was the same. She had memorized them on the nights that she couldn't sleep and was left with nothing to do but lie there and look at him. He was still handsome as ever. Looking into his eyes, she ran her fingers lightly over his cheek and jaw before leaning in to kiss him deeply. Maybe the wine had in influence on her actions, but it felt right.

He returned the kiss with equal passion, tangling his fingers in her long hair. He was amazed that she actually let her hair grow back out. She looked not either way, but he always preferred her long hair. It had been way too long since he'd made this kind of contact with her that the voice of his conscious was muffled in his own head. It felt too right to be wrong. Quinn's fingers trailed over his abs under his t-shirt before fighting with the garment to get it over his head. They should stop. She was tipsy. It would be just like the first time. But Puck couldn't bring himself to care as Quinn started toying with his belt buckle.

**xoPQox**

Quinn awoke on Sunday afternoon, feeling better than she had in a while, despite the slight headache. She woke up with a smile on her face for the first time in a long time. Rolling over, she expected to see the tan, muscular, man who made her feel the way she did last night, but found the bed empty. Not even a dent in the sheets to show that he had been there recently.

Quinn sat up slowly, trying to listen for any sounds that would prove that he was still there.

Nothing.

Getting out of the bed, the blonde woman searched around the apartment, finding no trace of him. It wasn't a dream. It felt too real to be a dream. Her body was too sore in all the right places to be a dream. It happened.

But what happened?

_Lying against Puck's sweaty chest, Quinn was still trying to catch her breath. The third round had worn her out completely. Her brain was still a little cloudy from the wine and the exhaustion. Her eyelids drooped uncontrollably. She could tell that she was going to fall asleep any second, so she had to say it before she did._

_"I love you, Puck."_

That was it. She ruined everything with those four words. How could she have been so stupid? Now he was gone and probably wanted nothing to do with her. She denied him after graduation, and then chose to tell him that she loved him while she was drunk.

Lying back down in her bed, she reached for the photo album that she kept under her pillow. It was gone. But she couldn't bring herself to care enough to go find it. She hated herself right now. She cuddled a pillow to her chest and just cried.

And she cried for the rest of the day.

**xoPQox**

Beth stood center stage in her final stance. The recital had gone perfectly. All her hard work and practice had paid off, just as she predicted. Glancing out into the audience, she looked around for Quinn. She wasn't in the chair that Beth had reserved for her. She wasn't anywhere else in the audience either.

Keeping up her "show face" as her mom called it, she looked out into the crowed and basked in the glory and attention, trying not to show how upset she really was.

**Reviews please! You know I love'em!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again! I'm not entirely sure if the rides and everything at Coney Island that were in the Uptown Girls movie are even still there, but let's just pretend they are mmmkay?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls**

After crying and sleeping her Sunday away, needless to say, Quinn felt awful when she woke up at 3:00 Monday morning. Not only was she emotionally drained, but she missed Beth's recital. She promised that she would be there, and she completely forgot. She had let her emotions get in the way of something she promised to her daughter. She pinky promised, for god's sake. Quinn may not be a little girl anymore, but she knew that a pinky promise was something you took to the grave.

She had to make it up to her somehow.

Getting out of bed, her legs shaky and her muscles sore, she walked to the bathroom and turned on the light. In the mirror, she could see how big of a mess she was. She had bags under her eyes, her cheeks were blotchy, and her hair was an absolute mess. Thank god for make-up. After Quinn turned on the shower, she stepped under the hot spray. She scrubbed at her body as if the essence of Puck was clinging to her, and she was desperate to get it off. She decided that she was done with him. This was the second time he'd done this; Made her feel like he felt something for her and then just left by the time she woke up. it was about herself and Beth from now on.

Quinn managed to get dressed and make her face look normal. Anyone who looked at her would never guess how she was feeling. With her flowing skirt and tank top, and happy-go-lucky smile, no one would know. As long as she kept up with the act.

It was almost five in the morning. Beth would be getting up for school in two hours. Shelby would be leaving for work in one. Today would be perfect for her and Beth to have some fun for once. Quinn made herself some breakfast and turned on the news like she did every morning. The weather today was going to be great. Perfect for what she was planning. The scrapbook that was supposed to stay under her pillow was sitting on the coffee table. She didn't remember putting it there, but she brushed it off. At least it wasn't missing.

The time seemed to be going by so slowly. It seemed like it took six hours for a single hour to pass. Glancing at the clock, Quinn smiled when she saw that it was finally past six. Shelby should be gone by the time she got to the apartment, and Beth wouldn't be up yet. She got her purse and locked the door as she left. Once she got down to the street, she couldn't help but notice that this was the first time she'd seen the sunrise in years. Being the poetic and deep person she was, she assumed that it was like a sign that everything was going to be okay. It would all work out.

She arrived at the apartment in thirty minutes. it usually took her fifteen or twenty, but she walked a little slower to admire how the light from the rising sun reflected off the tall buildings in the city; Taking a few pictures. Quinn had always loved photography. Realizing that she had some time, she climbed the stairs up to the top floor, unlocking the apartment door. She grabbed her check that Shelby left her every Monday off of the kitchen counter and tip toed to Beth's room. The little girl should be waking up any minute now.

"Rise and shine, kiddo," Quinn knocked on the door and stepped inside, smiling at the sight of Beth still lying in bed.

As she opened her eyes, Beth blinked repeatedly as her eyes focused on who was coming into her room. Seeing that it was Quinn, she shut her eyes again and rolled over, "Your shift doesn't start until three," she mumbled.

"I'm picking up an extra shift for the day. No coffee shop for me, and no school for you. We're gunna have some fun today."

"Nope. I'm not going anywhere with you today."

Quinn frowned a little and sat on the side of the small bed. "Look, I'm sorry I missed your recital. Something came up and I just...forgot," she tried placing a hand on Beth's arm, but it was immediately shrugged off, "I'm trying to make it up to you. So come on, get dressed."

"Why?"

"I told you already, we're going to have fun. We're gunna ride a ferris wheel, and a carousel, and teacups, and-"

"Teacups?" Beth raised an eyebrow at her, "Are you high?"

"Nope, just excited. Get up! Get up, get up, get up, get up!" Quinn bounced on the bed until Beth got pissed enough to throw the covers off herself and stomp off to the bathroom.

"Wear comfortable clothes!" Quinn grinned proudly as the bathroom door slammed shut.

**xoPQox**

It took some convincing, as well as some shoving, to get Beth down into the subway station, let alone on the subway itself. The little girl wouldn't stop complaining about germs and dirty people. But Quinn knew that the teacups intrigued her, so she brought them up every time Beth refused to do something. Whether it was going down the stairs into the station, or sitting in a seat on the train, all Quinn had to ask was "Do you want to ride the teacups or not?" and Beth would sigh and do as she was told.

"I just don't understand," Beth said to no one in particular.

"It's a ride, Beth. You sit in the teacups and you can make them spin around. They're just like the ones in Disney World."

Beth was silent.

"You've been to Disney World, right?"

Silence.

"You've never been to Disney World?"

Silence.

"Have you been to any amusement park?"

"No! I haven't, okay?" Beth snapped.

Quinn sat there next to her, completely dumbstruck, "Oh my god, you are going to have so much fun in Coney Island!"

The smaller blonde rolled her eyes and sat with her hands crossed over her jeans (the jeans that she had worn voluntarily that day), wondering how much longer the ride was.

**xoPQox**

After stepping off the subway at the Coney Island station, they had a little bit of a walk, before they got to the right place. Quinn noticed how empty it was. No one was here. Not even any street vendors or skate boarders. Just pigeons and some janitors. Maybe because it was so early in the morning.

Going forward to the nearest janitor, Quinn tapped him on the shoulder tentatively, "Excuse me, where is everyone? I've never seen it so empty around here."

The taller man looked at her sympathetically, "The attractions don't open up until the season starts. It starts next week."

Jaw slacked and a little disappointed, Quinn glanced down at her feet and thanked him before turning around to tell Beth.

But she was gone.

"Beth?" there was no answer. She was nowhere to be seen, "Beth?"

Quinn ran around the small amusement park in search of the little blonde in blue jeans and a hot pink t-shirt. You would think she would be easy to find in an empty park. Finally she found her. After weaving through the attractions and food booths, Quinn came to find Beth standing in front of the teacup ride. She was just standing there. Quinn couldn't see Beth's face, but she could only assume that she was thinking about how ridiculous it looked, or how much fun it looked.

"Beth?" she asked lowly.

She was still quiet, but she turned around quickly and mumbled, "Let's go home," as she walked briskly towards the exit.

**xoPQox**

They were silent the rest of the walk. Beth seemed upset, and Quinn didn't want to upset her any further. But the subway ride got uncomfortably quiet. Beth knew what station they were supposed to get off at. But she didn't budge when the simulated voice on the speaker system called it out.

The rode the tracks in silence for about an hour until Quinn looked over at her from her seat directly across. She got up and sat right next to Beth. Staying silent for a few moments.

"My real name is Lucy. My middle name is Quinn. I used to have red hair, a big nose, and glasses. The first time I went to Coney Island, I was seven. Seven and a half, to be exact. My dad brought our family on one of his business trips to New York over the summer. He and my mom had been fighting again, and my older sister didn't seem to care much. She was going through that hormonal teenager phase. No one really noticed me in my own family. I was the odd one out who inherited my great grandfather's looks. Everyone else had blonde hair and perfect skin. We were on the subway one night, going to a Broadway show on one of my dad's nights off. My parents got into a fight on the way there. I'm sure it was about something stupid. It always was. But while they fought and my sister listened to her CD player, I found an interest in the maps on the walls," Quinn pointed to one that was diagonal from them.

"Anyways, I was looking at the one that was right next to where we were sitting and glanced around at the different stops and the different routes. I saw Coney Island and decided that I wanted to go there. But I didn't dare ask my parents to change their plans. So when we got to the station near the theater, my family got off the train, assuming that I was with them. But I stayed on and watched them go. And I rode the subway all the way to Coney Island. I thought it was like a real island that I could live on and forget all my troubles. But when I got there, it was a whole lot different than I thought. But all the lights and noises made me curious. I'd never been to an amusement park either. I went straight for the teacups. It was the only ride that they let me go on by myself. And because I was alone, they let me stay on the ride as long as I wanted. I spun on the teacups for hours that night until they closed. And I had nowhere to go. A police officer took me with them to the station. They even let me sit up in the front of the car. And they let me watch a movie until my parents came to get me. When they did, they hugged me tight. So tight that I could barely breath. My mom was crying. My sister even looked worried about me. And that was the first time in a long time that I felt like my family actually cared about me."

Beth was still quiet.

"That's why Coney Island is so important to me. And I thought it would be nice if we could go there together. You may not like me very much, Beth, but I don't want you to ever feel like I did. I care about you. Your mom cares about you, even though you don't get to see her very often. But I just want you to know that no matter how crappy you may feel, people care. Even the ones who seem like they don't."

The little girl turned to look out the window as they came out of a tunnel, watching the buildings pass by.

Quinn sat back in her seat, trying to keep her tears at bay. They rode the subway for a little while longer. Maybe another hour or two. She thought about how quickly the day had gone by. She and Beth left the apartment at about nine, after the girl showered and ate her breakfast. It took about an hour to walk to the closest subway station. They didn't get to Coney Island until about eleven. And after riding the subway for hours, they didn't get off until about four. Still quiet. The only words that Beth spoke were what she wanted from the burger joint they stopped at on the way back to her apartment.

It was starting to get dark once they got back at 6:30. Beth took her second shower of the day, claiming that she wanted to get the subway smell off of her. Quinn smiled half-heartedly and sat on the small bed like she normally did. She was so tired. Still drained from the weekend, she laid down against the pillows and closed her eyes. Just to rest while Beth took her shower. When she got out, they would probably watch some movies or something until it was her bedtime. Hopefully the time passed quickly. She was so tired.

Beth changed into her nightgown and brushed her teeth before walking out of the bathroom, seeing Quinn sprawled out above the covers. The small girl wasn't annoyed or angry...she didn't really feel anything. She was just as tired as Quinn was. She pulled the covers up and crawled underneath. Quinn didn't budge. She must've been asleep. Beth tried to keep her distance in the twin sized bed, but with the way Quinn was spread out, there was really no way to keep away from her. Finally, letting her guard down, she turned onto her side and curled up right next to her nanny. Smiling a little at how Quinn's arms unconsciously wrapped around her as she slept.


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's chapter nine! Thank you so much for the reviews! This chapter is a little shorter, but drama llama.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls**

The next day, Quinn woke up in Beth's bed. But Beth was gone. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was almost ten in the morning. She must have gone to school.

_Wait._

Ten o'clock? She was late for work. Her uniform was at home. Maybe she could borrow one from Jess. She always kept extras in her locker.

Jumping up out of the bed, Quinn put her shoes on and ran out the door, her hair disheveled and her make-up smudged. It didn't matter right now, she had to get to work. She practically ran down the street, barreling around corners to the coffee shop. Running inside, she bumped into her boss on her way behind the counter. He didn't look happy.

"Quinn..."

"I know, I'm late. I'm sorry. I didn't sleep at home last night and I didn't have an alarm to wake me up, and I just had a really weird few days."

The taller man glanced over her, looking at her messed up hair and make-up and her wrinkled clothes. Quinn could tell that he was getting the wrong idea, but didn't bother saying anything about it.

"Quinn, this is the second day in a row. Yesterday, I said it was fine that you took the day off at last minute, but following it up with coming in late like _this_..." he sighed and shook his head, "I'm going to have to let you go. He whispered, at least trying to spare her the embarrassment."

She looked up at him with wide eyes and a slacked jaw, trying to come up with something to say. "Look, I'm sorry. I fell asleep at my kid's house last night, cause we had a long day and I just fell asleep on accident. Please don't do this, just give me another chance, I-"

He shook his head again, and mumbled, "I'm sorry," before walking away.

**xoPQox**

Quinn walked slowly down the street. Things were going so downhill lately. Now what was she supposed to do? Maybe she would go home and video chat with Santana. It had been a few days since they'd talked. Maybe she could fill her in on what was going on.

Arriving at her apartment, she trudged to her bedroom and reached for her laptop that was on her bedside table. Pulling up Skype, she looked at her contacts list. She wasn't online. Neither was Brittany. Some other people from high school were online, but she really didn't feel like dumping her problems on them. Especially when she hadn't talked to any of them in a while. Sighing, she closed her laptop and made herself some breakfast. Technically, it would be lunch, considering the time of day. She ate her sandwich silently in the kitchen, glancing around at the big empty apartment. She had felt more lonely than normal lately.

After showering and getting dressed, she brought the photo album out to the living room, along with the prints she had made of all the pictures she had taken with Beth in the past month. Getting out the glue and some stickers, Quinn worked on adding to the album to pass the time until she had to go get Beth from school. They had taken so many that she still had half a pile to add in by the time the clock turned to 2:30.

Grabbing her purse, Quinn left everything on the coffee table. She could continue when she got home. She walked at a normal pace to Beth's school, getting there exactly at three. Beth came out with the rest of the girls, she was actually talking and laughing with one of them. Quinn raised her eyebrows in surprise and waved at the girl once she turned her head. Beth said goodbye to the other girl and ran over to Quinn.

"I see you're alive, Briar Rose."

"Ha, ha," Quinn laughed a little as they started their walk to Beth's, "Who's your friend?"

"What friend?"

"The girl you were talking to. She seemed like a friend."

"Oh, that's Amanda. We're not friends. We're partners for our science project."

Quinn smirked to herself. Beth was starting to make friends. She just didn't want to admit it. If they were just science partners, they wouldn't have been joking and laughing outside of school.

"Oh, I see. Do you have a lot of homework?"

"Yea, kinda. I'm a little hungry though."

"Wanna go out and get something and just bring it home?"

"I guess."

Quinn fished her wallet out of her purse, seeing only two dollars in the cash pocket.

"Crap, I need to go home to get some more cash. Do you mind coming with me to my place?"

Beth shrugged and turned with Quinn to go the other direction. On the way, she told her all about her day at school. It had become a habit. Like routine. She walked with Quinn every day after school and told her about her day. Yesterday when she wasn't in class, they had assigned everyone partners, and Beth got partnered with Amanda by default. They had lunch together and talked about what they were going to do for their project. But Beth still only saw the girl as a science partner. An acquaintance at the most.

Quinn unlocked the door to her apartment and lead Beth inside.

"Just wait here, I just have to pee and get my money," she ran off to her bedroom.

Beth wandered, looking around the place. She'd never been here before. It was colorful, and a bit of a mess. But she didn't expect Quinn's place to be anything like her own bedroom. She didn't even take her shoes off before walking onto the carpet. The little girl sauntered into the living room, sitting on the couch. Eyeing the photos and the photo album that were scattered on the coffee table. Curious, she picked up the stack and sifted through the photos. They were all the ones that Quinn had taken in the past few weeks. Smiling a little, she turned to the album, starting from the beginning.

They all seemed to be pictures of Quinn when she was younger. Maybe in high school. Each chapter started with a sonogram picture as Quinn's belly gradually got bigger in the photos. Beth's eyebrows knit together. She didn't know Quinn had a baby. There were a lot of pictures of that Puck guy. He had a really weird hairdo in a lot of the pictures. Flipping through plastic covered pages quickly, she came to one that caught her attention. The one of Quinn and Puck sitting on a hospital bed with a pink bundle in their arms.

**_Baby Beth born June 8th 2010_**

Feeling her heart start to race, Beth flipped the pages, seeing recognizable photos of herself being held by both Quinn and Puck. She knew that it was her. But what did all this mean? Quinn and Puck were...her parents? Who was Shelby? Beth knew Shelby as her mom. Was she adopted? How could they never tell her?

"Okay, I got some cash," Quinn called out as she came out from her bedroom, "Ready to g-"

She had to stop dead in her tracks. Beth was sitting on the couch with the photo album in her lap.

_Shit._

"Beth-"

The little girl looked up at her angrily, tears in her eyes. She threw the album down on the couch and ran out the door and down the stairs of the apartment complex.

"Beth!" Quinn ran after her, not bothering to lock the door behind her. "Beth! Please wait!" She chased her out the revolving door and down the street until she finally caught her by the arm. Beth put up a fight, trying to get her arm free. "Please listen to me. I never wanted you to find out like this!"

Looking into her eyes, Quinn could see how upset Beth was, even if she wasn't looking back at her. Quinn could feel tears welling up in her own eyes. She honestly wished that she could go back in time and take the time to put the album away before leaving the apartment. The little girl still wasn't looking at her. But she lifted the arm that Quinn had a hold of and bit her hand roughly, causing Quinn to let go. As soon as she was free, Beth bolted down the street. Quinn, of course, ran after her, trying to ignore the pain in her hand. The people on the street were like blurs. The only thing that she had a clear vision of was Beth. They ran all the way to the tall apartment building, Beth caught the elevator, which closed before Quinn could get in. She knew she would never make it by taking the stairs. But she couldn't leave Beth alone. So she waited for the next elevator, and rode it all the way up to Beth and Shelby's apartment. Unlocking the door with her key, she ran down the hall to Beth's bedroom. She could hear her crying. It was the most painful sound in the world. At least to Quinn it was. She slumped against the locked door and cried as she pulled her knees up to her chest. Little did she know that Beth was on the opposite side of the door, doing the exact same thing.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi again! Thank you for all the reviews! Omg you guys are the best :) I'm not a huge fan of this chapter, unfortunately. So, I'm sorry if you're disappointed in it :( Also, I used Mark Salling's pseudo-name, for Puck in this chapter, and I take no credit for it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls.**

Quinn sat against the door in tears for a while. Maybe hours. She would have left, but she was still on the clock. Plus, she really didn't want to leave Beth alone; Even if she was ignoring her. She got up at one point to make Beth some dinner, since the little girl said she was hungry when they left her school. She stood at the door for fifteen minutes trying to get Beth to open up so she could give her her food.

_"Beth, you don't have to talk to me, or look at me. Please just open to door so you can get your dinner."_

It hadn't worked. She even tried getting the maid to get Beth to open the door, but that didn't work either. Eventually, she reheated it and told Beth she was going to leave it outside her door and she would go to the living room until her shift was over. That tactic seemed to work, because when she got up to use the bathroom, the plate in front of the door was gone.

When her shift ended at eight, Quinn quietly left the apartment, reluctantly, of course. There was no chance Beth was going to talk to her tonight. She was starting to wonder if Beth would ever talk to her again. Just that thought made her cry all the way home. She walked. She never walked on her own at night. But she didn't want to talk to anybody. Not even a cab driver. Plus, she wanted to time to sort out her thoughts. It felt as if she'd lost everything. Her job, her daughter, the love of her life, even her best friends never seemed to be around anymore. Jess never had time to hang out either. All Quinn had was herself.

With teary eyes and blurry vision, she made her way up to her apartment, unlocking the door and trudging inside. A bouquet of daisies were lying on the small table next to the door. Wiping her eyes, she unfolded the note and tried to read the scratchy handwriting.

**We need to talk.**

**-NP**

**P.S. You should really lock your door.**

She crumpled the note and tossed it aside. He wanted to talk. What could they possibly talk about? How he used her for sex and then just left her alone? How he barged into her life, uninvited and made her feel everything for him again, only to have her heart ripped out of her chest? She wasn't talking to him.

But she was keeping the daisies. They were her favorites.

**xoPQox**

The next morning, Quinn woke up to her cell phone's classic Marimba tone. Rubbing her eyes, she blinked as she read the caller ID.

Shelby.

"Hello?" she tried to make it sound like she hadn't just been woken up.

_"Quinn? It's Ms. Corcoran."_

"Hi, um...How are you?"

_"I'm fine, thank you. I just wanted to talk to you,_" her tone was serious and business-like, "_I got home from work last night, and Beth came out of her bedroom. She looked like she had been crying all day. She didn't say much, but she has made it clear that she never wants to see you again."_

Tears rose up in her eyes.

"Oh."

_"May I ask you what happened?"_

"She...She found out."

_"You told her?"_

"No, no. I took her back to my apartment to get some money for food, and she saw some pictures that I had out. She must have put two and two together, and the next thing I know, she's running down the street and I'm trying to catch her," Quinn sniffed between a few words. She could hear Shelby sigh through the receiver. "I'm sorry. I never meant for her to find out. Especially not the way she did."

_"I appreciate that. But I unfortunately have to respect her wishes. I'm going to have to let you go."_

Quinn was silent for a few moments. Part of her wanted to fight, or beg for her to keep her job. But the other part just wanted to accept it to spare anyone any trouble.

"I...I understand."

_"Thank you. Have a nice day, Quinn. I'm sorry it came to this."_

"Bye," if Quinn could have slammed her phone down to hang up, she would have. But she couldn't afford another broken iPhone. Why was everything going to hell lately? Was she being punished for something?

**xoPQox**

Quinn choked down her third shot of the night. Who cared if it was a Tuesday night? She had nothing else going for her. Might as well get plastered and have some fun.

Except she wasn't having any fun.

If anything, the alcohol was making her miserable. It burned her throat and at the same time of clouding her thoughts, it made more things clear. She had nowhere to go from here.

She could hear the obnoxious noise of other's having a good time behind her as she sat at the bar. She winced at the sound of the technicians setting up the stage for whatever crappy up-and-coming artist was performing tonight. The loud squeaks from the microphone were killing her ears.

"All right, everyone! Let's give it up for tonight's performer: Jericho!" one of the employees practically screamed into the mic. A few claps and whistles rang out as Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Thank you," the rough voice boomed in the speakers, "This first song isn't by me, but it's dedicated to someone who means an awful lot to me."

Quinn's eyes darkened at the sound of his voice. It was him. She could tell without even turning around. Was he following her or were they really this cliché, running into each other? Turning around in her stool, she stared up at him on the stage.

Yup. There he was. Noah Puckerman. Clear as day, lit up by spotlights. His hazel eyes practically glowed as he stared at her and started his song.

**She grew up with the children of the stars**  
><strong>in the Hollywood Hills and the Boulevard<strong>  
><strong>Her parents threw big parties<strong>  
><strong>everyone was there<strong>  
><strong>They hung out with folks like<strong>  
><strong>Dennis hopper, Bob Seger, Sonny and Cher<strong>

**She feels safe now, in this bar on Fairfax**  
><strong>And from the stage I can tell that she can't let go and she can't relax<strong>  
><strong>And just before she hangs her head to cry<strong>  
><strong>I sing to her a lullaby, I sing<strong>

**Everything's gonna be all right**  
><strong>Rockabye, rockabye<strong>

How could he possibly do this to her? Just a few verses into the song and she was already in tears. But her eyes never left his. No, her eyes stayed glued to his for his entire performance.

**She still lives with her mom outside the city**  
><strong>Down that street about a half a mile<strong>  
><strong>And all her friends tell her she's so pretty<strong>  
><strong>But she'd be a whole lot prettier if she smiled once in a while<strong>  
><strong>Cause even her smile looks like a frown<strong>  
><strong>She's seen her share of devils in this angel town<strong>

**But, everything's gonna be all right**  
><strong>rockabye, rockabye<strong>  
><strong>everything's gonna be all right<strong>  
><strong>rockabye, rockabye<strong>  
><strong>rockabye<strong>

His voice had always been something that she couldn't help but love. She practically melted every time he sang in Glee club. She remembered when he used to sing to her belly late at night when she couldn't sleep. That was probably the time she appreciated his voice the most.

_"Puuuck," she shook his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up._

_"Go back to sleep, babe," he rolled over and draped an arm across her chest._

_"She won't stop moving, and I can't sleep when she's active like this."_

_"What do you want me to do about it?" Puck grumbled, still not opening his eyes._

_"I dunno, could you just...rub my belly or sing to her or something?"_

_When he finally opened his eyes, he was looking at her as if she was insane._

_"You want me to sing to someone that can't hear me?"_

_"She can hear you. I promise. She usually calms down when you sing," she pleaded with him._

_Puck sighed and adjusted himself so he could relax, but still get close enough to Quinn's belly to sing to and run his hands over it._

_Lying back, Quinn made herself comfortable as Puck started to sing Beth's song to her. She smiled a little when she felt the baby slowly start to calm down inside her. By the time Puck had finished the song, her movements had stopped completely._

_"Thank you," she whispered, watching as he crawled back up to his pillow._

_"No problem," he mumbled and resumed his position with his arm wrapped around her._

_She smiled warmly and turned onto her side, pressing her forehead to his and falling asleep in minutes._

Snapping back to reality, Quinn wiped the smile off her face when she saw Puck smiling back down at her as he finished the song. More claps and whistles erupted from the crowd as she turned back to the bar.

"Thanks," Puck waved out to the small groups of people, "I'll um...I'll be right back."

Quinn knew he was coming over to her. It was just like him to do that. So instead of running out, she waited for him to come over. If she ran, he would've caught up anyways.

"Quinn?" she heard from behind her.

"Well, if it isn't Noah Puckerman," Quinn turned in her stool, acting as if she didn't expect him to be there.

"Look, I know you hate me, but can we just talk? Please?"

She glared at him icily. He looked so desperate. His eyes wide and pleading. She hated when he looked like that, because all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him. He always had that affect on her.

"I've been wanting to talk to you for a while actually. But the one opportunity I had, you were nowhere to be found, Puck," she snapped, slurring a bit.

He hung his head, and took a seat next to her, holding his head in his hands.

"So talk," Quinn leaned back against the bar, propping her elbows up.

"I'm sorry I left. I-"

"This is the _second_ time that's happened, Puck!"

"Well, that first time, I didn't wanna get caught by your parents. And when I got back to school, you were right back there on Finn's arm, so I thought you wanted nothing to do with me. So I'm sorry for that."

Quinn scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"But this time," Puck sighed, "I dunno, I just...I started thinking about how it was almost exactly like last time. How you were tipsy and everything, and I just got overwhelmed and pissed at myself, because I took advantage of you again. I didn't plan on leaving at first, but I found that photo album under my pillow and I took it out to the living room to just look through it."

_"So that's why it was in the living room."_

"And I got to looking at it and remembering what we went through in high school. I ruined your life by knocking you up. And...we didn't use protection the other night."

"I'm on a strong birth control."

"Oh...well, that's good, I guess. But still, I just felt everything from high school come back."

"We're not in high school anymore, Puck! Even if I did get pregnant, it wouldn't be like back then! We were just kids, stuck in a fish tank high school. We wouldn't have to worry about that here! We're adults! I hated it back then because of all the judgment I got. It seemed like everyone knew that I cheated on Finn, and became a statistic. A cheerleader pregnant at sixteen. That wouldn't matter now!"

Puck rubbed his hands over his face as he listened to her. She was right. It was different. His main concern was that he got her pregnant again. But she said she couldn't be, so that was a load off his shoulders. But he still felt awful."

"I meant what I said y'know," he glanced over, only to be met with a confused look from her, "When I said it wasn't just another hook-up in high school. It wasn't just a line. it would never be just a hook up with you."

Quinn's face involuntarily softened. At least she wasn't just another notch in the belt of a rock star. Swiveling back around in her seat, she crossed her arms on the bar and looked straight across, letting her eyes wander aimlessly amongst the bottles on the wall.

"Beth knows."

"What?" Puck lifted his head.

"She found out. I took her back to my apartment and she found my photo album."

"Shit...how'd she take it?"

"How do you think? She just found out that her life has been a lie," Quinn shook her head, "She wouldn't talk to me. Shelby called me this morning, and she fired me."

"Why? It wasn't your fault."

"Beth said she never wanted to see me again. But it kind of was my fault. I left the album out where she could find it."

"But it's not like you meant for her to find out."

"I know," she sighed, "It was Beth's choice. I just want to know how she is. If Shelby's told her everything. And who's taking care of her."

"I'm sure she has. She'll be fine. She's got Puckerman genes, remember? She's tough."

Quinn smiled meekly at him, "Hey, the Fabray's are pretty tough too."

Puck breathed a laugh and nodded, "Yea, they are. And they've got a kill back hand."

Quinn giggled, remembering how she had slapped him one night in high school.

"Can we just...start over?" she looked up at him through her eyelashes.

"Yea...Yea, we can. If you want to."

Smiling, Quinn stood and gave him a friendly hug, breathing deeply as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"Don't you have a performance to finish?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi again! I like this chapter better than the last. Hopefully you all do too :) Thank you again for the awesome reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls**

It was Friday night. About seven o'clock. Quinn was getting ready to hang out with Puck for the night. They'd gotten back to a good place within the past few days. They were in a comfortable state of friendship, and they didn't want to jeopardize it with a relationship. They weren't dating each other, but they promised not to date other people. Puck really didn't understand why they couldn't just date, but he respected what she wanted. He was still trying to earn her trust back anyways.

As Quinn curled her hair, she let her mind wander back to Beth. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about her all week. She wondered if Shelby had told her everything, or how Beth was reacting. She must be hurting so badly. Quinn had gotten so attached to the girl in the last month and a half, and all she wanted to do was go see if she was alright. But she knew she couldn't. Even if she could, Beth still probably didn't want to even see her.

After finishing her last curl, Quinn slipped on her maroon floral dress and denim jacket. Puck was supposed to be here any minute. She put on her black flats and padded into the living room to wait for him. If he didn't get here soon, they'd miss their movie. Just as she leaned back to relax, the familiar incessant knocking on her door started. Sighing, Quinn pulled herself off the sofa and grabbed her purse, opening the door and closing it behind her.

"Finally," she teased, locking the door.

"Sorry, there's people all over the fucking place."

"Well, we gotta hurry, cause I wanna get popcorn," Quinn grabbed his arm and hauled him to the elevator. Once they got down, the pair started their journey down the street to the theater, walking at a brisk pace. They were halfway there when Quinn's phone began to ring. It was probably Santana, calling to see how she was doing. But Quinn didn't get her hopes up. Looking at the screen, she saw the last name she would expect: Shelby. Furrowing her brow, Quinn slid her finger across the screen to answer it.

"Hello?"

_"Quinn. It's Shelby."_

"Hi...Is everything okay?"

_"Well not exactly,_" the older woman sounded distraught, _"Um...Beth didn't come home from school today. And no one has seen her. I know that we let you go, but is there any chance that you've seen her?"_

Quinn's heart seemed to stop just before it sped up completely.

"No. No, I haven't seen her. Have you called the police?" It was a pretty stupid question, but she couldn't really think straight. She and Puck had stopped walking, and were now just standing in the middle of the sidewalk. He was looking at her inquisitively, clearly worried and confused.

_"Yes, they've been looking for her around the city all night. No one's found her. With it being a Friday night, I'll be at work until late tonight. I only found out about all this when the housekeeper called to tell me that Beth wasn't home for dinner."_

"I'll um...I'll help look for her. Me and Puck are heading downtown, so we'll search for her around there."

_"Thank you. Call me if you hear anything, and I'll do the same."_

Shelby hung up before Quinn could say anything in return. But there wasn't much else to say. They were wasting time.

"Beth's missing," Quinn told Puck with a thick voice. She didn't know what to do, or where to start looking. And she was, of course, freaking out about what could possibly happen to her daughter.

"Shit. Don't freak out, okay? We'll look for her. We'll ask a few people around here if they've seen her."

"Okay..okay," the blonde nodded, crossing her arms protectively over her chest as they went down the street.

Where would Beth go? Why would she run away?

Maybe she went to a friend's house? Maybe she went to Amanda's to work on their science project. Maybe she went to the dance studio.

Somehow, just then, Quinn stopped in her tracks. She knew where Beth was. She had no idea how she knew. She could just feel it.

"I know where she is."

"Where?" Puck turned to her frantically.

"Come on," she grabbed his hand and they ran towards the nearest subway station.

**xoPQox**

The subway ride felt like it took hours. Quinn couldn't get through the station quick enough. She couldn't help but fidget for the entire ride. She hadn't let go of Puck's hand the entire time. But he held it tightly, trying to reassure her that everything would be fine, even though he wasn't really sure, himself. He didn't know why they were heading to Coney Island in the first place.

When they finally reached their stop, Quinn pulled Puck up and ran off the train and up the steps, practically cantering towards the amusement park area.

"Why are we here? What's going on?" Puck panted as they slowed down a little.

"I took her here earlier this week," Quinn glanced around at the lit up attractions, trying to remember how to get to the teacups. This would be a lot easier in the daylight.

"So? Why would she come here?"

"Just trust me," she found a familiar attraction that she remembered passing when she lost Beth here the first time, "Let's go."

They two ran through the maze of people, rides, street performers, and food stands. Puck was still confused, but Quinn seemed to know what she was doing. They slowed down and eventually came to a stop. Looking over at her, Puck could see Quinn's eyes searching through the people spinning on the teacups. The worry on her face, lit up by the park lights was heartbreaking. The ride came to a complete stop and that's when they saw her. Their little blonde headed girl in her school uniform, sitting alone in a teacup with her head cast down.

Quinn dropped Puck's hand, and started slowly towards the ride. But when Puck tried to follow, Quinn placed her hand on his chest, looking pleadingly into his eyes. She wordlessly managed to tell him that she needed to do this on her own. And he backed off with a meek nod.

With a deep breath, Quinn went to the ride operator and quickly explained to him what was going on, and promised that she would give him a ride ticket later. She just needed to go see her daughter. Thankfully, the man obliged, letting her on with the other passengers. Apparently he'd been letting Beth stay on the ride all night.

Just like Quinn had done when she was little.

Stepping up onto the platform, she made her way to Beth's cup. The little girl's eyes were still down. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and after Quinn sat across from her in the cup, she could see that her eyes were red and puffy. Quinn just looked at her. Not a word was exchanged. But as the ride started, they both lifted their hands and began to spin the wheel in the middle. Faster, and faster, they gripped the wheel as hard as they could, trying to make their cup go as fast as they could. Quinn's eyes welled up with tears as she stared at Beth. The colorful lights and sounds around them all just blended together. It was all a blur. All but Beth was a blur. The smaller blonde finally lifted her eyes to look at her mother, directly across. Her face didn't have a definite emotion on it. She didn't look happy, or sad, or angry. She just looked...hurt, and confused, with a little bit of relief.

Neither girl broke eye contact for the rest of the ride.

**xoPQox**

Quinn was knelt behind Beth as the little girl threw up into the nearest trashcan, rubbing soothing circles on her back. Puck was a few yards away. He had gone to get Beth a drink, and was now just standing back, letting the girls have their space. Quinn was still crying a little, and it took everything he had to keep from taking both girls into his arms.

Beth stood up straight, wiping her mouth off on her arm, turning to glare at Quinn icily. The older blonde looked at her sympathetically and offered her the styrofoam cup, only to have it slapped out of her hand, it's contents spilled to the ground. Beth was angry. Noticabley angry. Her face was flushed and you could see the hurt and anger in her hazel eyes. She kicked the metal trashcan a few times, and Quinn just sat back and let out a few silent sobs. She hated seeing her daughter in pain. Beth grabbed the nearest piece of trash that she could find and threw it harshly at her mother.

Quinn flinched a little as the crumpled up napkin hit the side of her face, gawking at Beth as she grabbed another random piece of garbage to hit her with. Blocking with her hand, Quinn stood up, trying to stand tall, metaphorically; Because right now, she felt two inches tall. She picked up the discarded cup and threw it back at the little girl. Not as harshly, of course, but enough that some of the cold lemonade splashed on Beth's clothes and arms.

The small blonde looked down at her clothes, still in sheer anger, before looking up to Quinn, her eyes brimming with tears. Unable to hold back anymore, Beth let out her feelings on the one person she couldn't help but blame for her sadness: Quinn. She was small, and weak, but Beth put up the best punches she could right on the older woman's torso.

The punches hurt a little, Quinn had to admit. But she could barely feel them. It was as if her body went numb. She couldn't feel anything but the pain in her chest from the heartache. She just stood there and took the punches as Beth cried and panted. The small girl could barely put up a fight anymore. Her hits and punches got weaker and weaker until she emotionally crumbled and wrapped her arms tightly around Quinn, burying her face in her abdomen while she cried.

Quinn succumbed to the hug and immediately wrapped her arms around her daughter, equally as tight. She let out more hiccupped sobs. At least she wasn't crying alone. Kneeling down to Beth's level, she wrapped her arms even tighter around the girl's tiny frame. Beth's face was hidden in the curve of her neck. Her little whimpers went directly into Quinn's ear as her tears fell to her shoulder. Turning her head, Quinn looked over at Puck who was still standing a few yards away, shifting from foot to food awkwardly. Taking one hand off her daughter's back, she motioned for him to come over. And he did.

Puck knelt down next to the girls, placing a hand on Beth's back, rubbing it soothingly. She turned her head and looked at him with tears in her eyes, and he looked back and offered her a small smile, mouthing "hi". The little girl wiped her eyes on the back of her hand and extended an arm to him. That was all it took, and Puck, himself, had tears brimming in his eyes. He closed in and wrapped one arm around Quinn, and the other around Beth; Beth sandwiched between them with her face resting on their shoulders.

**xoPQox**

Puck called Shelby from Quinn's phone once they had broken apart. It took a while for him to separate from his little family. He let the older woman know that they had found Beth, where they had found her, and that they were bringing her home now. Quinn carried Beth tight against her torso on the walk back to the subway station. Beth had her arms and legs tightly wrapped around her with her face still buried in her neck. She had stopped crying, thankfully. Quinn, on the other hand, still had a few stray tears that needed to be let free. But she was silent. In fact, Puck was the only one who had talked in almost an hour. And that was just to Shelby on the phone. None of them had uttered even a syllable to each other yet. They would talk when they were ready. Anything that needed to be said was said through looks, which they all understood.

On the subway, Beth fell asleep sitting sideways in Quinn's lap, her feet on Puck's. Quinn rested her head on her daughter's and rubbed her back gently, trying to keep her asleep through the loud sound of the train on the rails. Puck's arm was draped over Quinn's shoulder, watching as the lights in the tunnels passed by.

"Why do you think she went there?" he whispered in Quinn's ear.

"I may have given her the idea," she shrugged gently, "I took her there on Monday, but the rides were all closed. And I told her about a time when I went there when I was about her age. I ran away there once too."

"Never heard that story before."

"Maybe I'll tell you someday," Quinn whispered back to him, "But for now, I think I'll keep it between me and her."

Nodding, Puck turned his head down to face Beth. Even in her emotional state, she looked so peaceful when she slept.

**xoPQox**

Quinn's arms were tired by the time they got do Beth and Shelby's apartment, so Puck took over, carrying Beth carefully into the penthouse apartment. She sure was a heavy sleeper. He laid her down in her small bed once they got to her room. Quinn gently untied the girl's saddle shoes and slipped the off before covering her with the pink comforter. They both took turns giving their daughter a light kiss on the forehead and telling her they loved her before they left, heading back to Quinn's.

Quinn stuck close to Puck's side on the walk. Her hand wandered down to his and she tangled their fingers together tightly; And he reciprocated the gesture.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" she looked up at him with her damp, pleading eyes.

"Sure. Of course," he nodded and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer as they walked down the street.

**I wanted to make the scene at Coney Island similar, but not exact. And I don't think Quinn would have wanted to hit Beth like Molly did to Ray in the movie, so I threw in the trash instead to switch it up a bit lol **


	12. Chapter 12

**So sorry for the delay in updating! I've been caught up in drama with some friends, so I completely lost my muse. Hopefully this chapter will suffice :) This may, very well, be the end. Though, I may write an epilogue. Let me know what you think in reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls**

A few weeks had passed since Beth ran away. Quinn hadn't heard from Shelby since then; Except for the day after when she called to thank her and Puck again for finding Beth. Of course, Quinn was still heartbroken after everything that had happened, but she was slowly, but surely getting over it. Puck had been helping her along the way. He was pretty much living with her at that point. He stayed with her at night, and they went their separate ways during the day. Quinn went out on a job hunt while Puck went to find places to play gigs for upcoming nights. They weren't dating, but they were more definitely more than just friends. They knew exactly how they felt about one another, but were taking things at a snail's pace. Quinn still wasn't ready for an actual relationship yet. And Puck was willing to wait as long as she needed.

It was a Saturday, now. Exactly three days before Beth's birthday. Quinn had gotten Beth a gift card that she could use anywhere. She wasn't entirely sure what she could have gotten the little girl that she didn't already have. Plus, she didn't even know if Shelby would let her give it to her. Quinn had it ready and addressed to mail. It was just a matter of working up the courage to actually mail it, now.

"What are you gunna want for dinner, babe?" Puck asked her from the kitchen. He called her 'babe' all the time. Of course, it meant something, but Quinn didn't mind. It had always been his term of endearment for her, even when they weren't dating.

"Doesn't matter to me," she let out a heavy sigh as she looked down at the pink envelope in her hands.

"You gotta mail that thing sometime," Puck looked over to her, "If you don't mail your card, I can't mail mine. That'd just be weird."

"I know. I just...what if she hates us?"

Sighing, Puck set down his drink and strolled over to her, wrapping his arms comfortably around her waist from behind, "She doesn't. She can't, Q, I mean, she's eight. She doesn't have the ability to hate yet."

"Seems like she could," Quinn leaned her head back, resting her head in the crook of his neck and closing her eyes. The phone rang just then, and she gently released herself from his grip to answer it, "Hello?"

_"Hi, Quinn. It's Shelby."_

Dumbstruck, Quinn's eyebrows knit together briefly before she finally answered, "H-hi, um...How are you? Is Beth okay?"

_"She's fine, just fine. But we're having her birthday party with a few of my close friends and my mother, and she actually requested that you and Noah come at last minute."_

Of course, Quinn was shocked. She hadn't been expecting a phone call from Shelby, and she definitely hadn't been expecting Beth to invite them to her birthday party. "Of course! I mean, sure, but what-"

_"I don't know. She just came to me and asked if you and Noah would come. She's having some friends over tonight for a sleepover, and all the adults are leaving around seven. So, I guess she wanted to see you before her friends came."_

That sentence alone almost brought Quinn to tears. Not only was Beth making friends, but she was actually inviting them over for a slumber party like she had suggested. "I, um...Absolutely. We'll be there as soon as possible. Thank you so much."

_"No problem. I'm just glad to see she's forgiven the situation. I'll see you and Noah soon."_

Hanging up the phone, Quinn turned to Puck with a watery smile, "Shelby said that Beth wants us at her birthday party."

"Really?" His eyes widened.

"Yea, but the adults are only there 'til seven, so we gotta go!"

**xoPQox**

Knocking on the door, Quinn stood nervously with a neatly wrapped package in under her arm. Puck was on her other side, looking just as nervous. He always played it cool and collected, but he really wasn't. He hadn't seen Shelby since their little fling back when he was in high school. Lord knows, he regretted every minute of that. Except getting to see Beth. That was the only good thing that came out of that. And the fact that Shelby was the last 'cougar' that he ever slept with. After Shelby, Puck had decided that he was done with that game. He needed to grow up and stop acting like a juvenile.

The door swung open, revealing Shelby grinning widely on the other side. "Hey! Come on in! We're basically just all socializing in here. I'll take those for you if you want."

Quinn and Puck handed her the gift and their cards and walked slowly inside. They didn't know anyone here. It was all Shelby's friends. Beth was sitting in the corner of the living room on the lap of an elderly woman. That must be Shelby's mother. Beth seemed pretty content. She was just chatting it up with her grandma, fiddling with the hem of her pink party dress. The little girl glanced over, seeing Quinn and Puck. Her smile faded quickly upon seeing them. Kissing her grandmother on the cheek, she climbed off her lap and padded carefully over to her biological parents.

"Hi," Quinn whispered, looking down at the little girl with a small smile.

Without a word, Beth turned to Puck with a look that said, "Can you give us a minute?", and he immediately understood, backing off and going to find someone to talk to. Beth started walking off towards her bedroom, looking back and waving for Quinn to come along, and she followed hesitantly.

Quinn sat on Beth's bed once she was in her bedroom, wondering what her daughter was going to say. After closing the door behind her, Beth came over and sat on her bed about a foot away from Quinn.

"Mom told me everything," was all she said.

"Really?"

Beth nodded.

"So she told you about Rachel, and Puck and me?"

She nodded to it all. "She even told me about the baby sacrifice books you planted on her."

Quinn cringed, "It wasn't my best idea." At least that got a small chuckle out of the smaller blonde. "Did she tell you why I did it?"

"She said you went to desperate measures to try to get her in trouble so you could get me back."

Nodding, Quinn pursed her lips into a straight line, "I meant well. I really did. I just...I don't know. I went kind of crazy. I went through a really hard time after I gave you up. I stopped talking to Puck for a year and a half, and I just, isolated myself from all the my real friends and the people who had helped me when I was pregnant."

"Why?"

"I dunno," she shrugged, "It was a while ago. But I remember that everything and everyone reminded me of you. I tried to forget everything that had happened my sophomore year and tried it all again during my junior year. My plan in school was to be cheerleading captain, date the quarterback of the football team, become prom queen, and be at the top of the social food chain. I had it all going for me during sophomore year until I got pregnant."

"So I was a mistake?"

"No. No, not at all. You weren't planned, but you've never been a mistake. I don't regret any of my mistakes when I was sixteen, because every move I made lead me to you. And you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Really?" the little girl's hazel eyes brightened a bit.

"Really. I always put up this attitude, making people think that you were ruining my life. But you weren't. Puck didn't ruin my life either. You and him were actually the only good things I had going for me for a while. Y'know, he used to sing to my belly when I was pregnant with you? It always calmed you down."

"What kind of songs?"

"He would always sing some Neil Diamond or Billy Joel here and there. But I think your favorite song was your song: 'Beth' by KISS. That's how we came up with your name. He sang it to me in glee club one day, and suggested the name. I fell in love with it."

"I've never heard that song."

"Oh, yes you have. You just don't remember. You've had pizza before, too. Puck gave some to you when we babysat."

"He's pretty cool. Mom told me he drew me that clown pig," Beth's eyes wandered to the colored picture on the wall.

"He did. From what I hear, he worked pretty hard on it too." Beth giggled a little, causing the load of bricks of Quinn's shoulders to lift off, "I always loved you, Beth. And I always wanted what was best for you. That's why I put you up for adoption in the first place. It wasn't so that I could get my life back, even though that's what everyone thinks. It wasn't so that I wouldn't have to deal with the responsibility. It was because despite how much we loved you and wanted to keep you for ourselves, we knew that we couldn't provide for you. We were just kids. We didn't know anything about raising a baby. And we knew that there was someone out there who could give you everything we couldn't. "

Beth just stared at her, listening to the story intently.

"Puck didn't make it easy on me either. After you were born, he told me that he loved me. All through my pregnancy, he tried to convince me that we could do the whole parenting thing. He wanted to get a house and be a family. But I knew that it wouldn't work out. Neither of us were financially or emotionally stable enough. I think a part of him still hates me for giving you up. But I want you to know that we love you so much. We always have, and we always will. And I don't want you to ever have a doubt in your mind about that. Okay?"

The small girl just nodded with her eyes cast downward.

"Wait here," Quinn got up and ran to the living room where the presents were stacked, grabbing for her own and running back to Beth's room, "Here."

"What's this?"

"Open it, silly. It's a birthday present." Quinn knelt on the floor in front of Beth's bed, resting her chin on her arms as they settled on the bedspread. Beth had the thick, pink scrapbook unwrapped and she was just running the tiny tips of her fingers over the edges of it.

"I figured you might want it...y'know, just to look at whenever you feel sad or lonely. Maybe add to it if we ever take more pictures? It needs a new home. It was suffocating under my pillow," Quinn smiled; So did Beth.

"Thanks."

"Happy birthday, kiddo."

Beth raised her arms for a hug, which Quinn gladly gave in to. The feeling of those little arms wrapped so tightly around her neck was the best feeling in the world. And she never wanted to let go.

"You can have your job back, y'know," Beth looked up at her mother after they pulled back from the hug.

"Nah. I think I'm done nannying for a while. I might go find a job I'm actually qualified for." Quinn smiled warmly back down at her, "But we're gunna be friends, you and me. Nothing needs to change. Things can be any way you want them to from now on."

Nodding a little, Beth glanced around her room, as if looking for the next thing to say. Finally, she looked up into Quinn's matching hazel eyes.

"Can you stay for the sleepover?"

**Weird, awkward ending, but that's all, folks! I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you to all of you who reviewed! And if you would like me to write an epilogue, please let me know in the reviews :)**


	13. Epilogue

**Sorry again for the delay! But so many of you asked for one, so here's your epilogue! Sorry if it's awful. I lost my muse somewhere along the way :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Uptown Girls**

Quinn held her purse strap between her teeth as she carried a big box with one arm and tried desperately to get her key out of the keyhole. After a few tugs, she finally managed to get it out and she strolled into her new apartment. If Puck were home, he would have already taken the box from her and set it down where she needed it. But today, he was recording for god knows how long.

Setting the box down on the floor, she let out a deep sigh and looked around the place. Quinn hated that Puck had barely been around much lately, but she was glad that he was getting back to his music career; Even more successful now, here in New York, than in California. Shelby, with her numerous connections, had set him up with one of the most trusted and successful music producers in the area. He was doing great so far. It had only been a few months since he got signed onto the label.

Quinn was doing well for herself, as well. She managed to get a job writing as a columnist for a big name fashion magazine. She got to attend fashion shows, go to art museums, and she got to write all about it from her own point of view. Apart from hardly seeing each other for the time being, Quinn was happy with their current paths. Puck assured her that after they got all the recording done (which should be soon), he would be home a lot more often.

The box that she carried in was really heavy. It was full of stuff for a project she was going to do for work. So Quinn decided to push it down the hallway with her feet. It's not like she was in any rush, anyways. Fiddling with the ring on her left hand, she nudged the box towards her and Puck's room at the end of the hall. Letting her mind wander to the night he had proposed.

_All dressed up, Puck lead Quinn to the fancy town car awaiting them outside her apartment building. He still referred to it as her apartment, even though he slept there almost every night. They'd been officially dating for half a year, now. Quinn was under the impression that he was taking her out to celebrate that he signed a deal with the record company, but Puck actually had different plans. Taking her by the hand, he escorted her into the car before getting in himself. The driver already knew where to go. One of the ritziest restaurants in the city had a reservation under the name 'Puckerman'; Table for two, quiet corner, with candles already lit. _

_Through dinner, Puck constantly checked his pocket to make sure the ring was still there. The closer he got they got to the end of the meal, the more nervous he got. But finally, just before their dessert came, he lowered himself out of his seat and onto one knee. Quinn's heart was beating so rapidly, it felt more like butterfly wings in her chest._

"_So, you know that I've loved you pretty much since you transferred to Lima in 8th grade. And you're way more than just the mother of my kid to me. We're tethered together for life, but I wanted to make you officially mine," He opened the small box to reveal the ring his nana had given him, "This was my great grandmother's ring. She managed to make it through the Holocaust with this thing. She gave it to my grandpa, and my nana gave it to me. She told me to give it to the girl I think I'm gunna spend the rest of my life with. And that's you. So…Will you marry me, Quinn?"_

_Quinn had started tearing up before he even had the chance to finish speaking. In fact, she was already nodding by the time he opened the box. But she toughed it out and waited for him to finish before she said anything. __"Yes," she whispered, "Yes, of course I will!" Before he knew it, she was launched into his arms. He stood up, with her still in his grasp and kissed her gently, wiping the tears off her cheeks. It was useless, though, because Quinn released a fresh batch of tears when he finally slid the ring onto her finger._

Smiling at the memory, Quinn bit her lower lip as she pushed the box through the doorway to their bedroom. They still had all her furniture from her old apartment. Meaning, they spent every night on her full sized mattress. They didn't mind very much, though. The smaller the bed, the closer they had to cuddle together. They could definitely afford a new mattress, but they figured they would stick with this one for now. They could probably get a new one when Quinn ever got pregnant again and needed more room.

Speaking of a new baby, they'd been discussing that, too. In fact, they made sure to get a three bedroom apartment. One bedroom of their own, one guest room for Beth or should they ever have company, and an extra bedroom, for when they had another baby. It wasn't an "if" matter. Whenever they talked about it, it was always "when" we have another baby. Because it was definitely going to happen somewhere down the line. But for now, they just used that extra bedroom as an office/game room. Puck had gotten Beth into playing video games, so they set up a projector and a giant screen for when they played Mario Kart or when she challenged him to Just Dance games. Lately, she'd been beating him at both. Quinn always laughed, but she thought it was really cute when he would pout about losing to a ten year old.

And Beth? She was a constant visitor. Really constant, actually. She would come over almost every day after school. Some days, neither Quinn or Puck would be home, but she knew where they kept the spare key. Sometimes, she would leave them little surprises to come home to. Like post it notes everywhere with little sayings or drawings on them. Quinn collected them all. She had a shoebox full of Beth's surprise post-its. The only times that her constant visits were a bother were when Puck and Quinn would have "adult time". That was the only time that they ever thought that moving just a few floors under Beth and Shelby's apartment had been a bother, but then they just remember that they get to be closer to their little girl and they remember that it's all worth it. Beth's even started calling them mom and dad, lately. It was awkward for her at first, but it was her choice, and she wanted to call them what they were.

Her parents.

**Sorry for the awfulness lol. I stole the proposal from my roleplay on Tumblr, since I honestly couldn't think of what to write for this one. Thank you all for reading! I hope I can start something new that you'll like :)**

**-Sydni**


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